


Some Things Never Change

by Dark_Romances



Series: FFXV Family AU [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU where no one is dead and everyone is happy, AU where nothing bad ever happened, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Family, Fluffy, M/M, Married Life, Omega Verse, Post Mpreg, SO MUCH FLUFF, They Have Kids, This game killed me so I had to write something sweet and happy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, domestic life, family au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2018-10-01 12:30:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10189937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Romances/pseuds/Dark_Romances
Summary: Our favorite chocobros are living the domestic life with their kids.





	1. Just Like We Used To

**Author's Note:**

> This is the brain child of my many thoughts I have while I am at work. I saw some cute kid/baby clothes and the idea only grew from there. I just love writing all my favs with kids.
> 
> I love this game so much. I love these boys so much. Someone save me from this beautiful hell I am dragged into.
> 
> Also, I only tagged this as omega verse so that there would be an explanation behind them having the kids. If you came expecting traditional omega verse, I am sorry.
> 
> If you guys like this, I could continue it and make it a series or something like that. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

“Nikolas! Woo Hoo! Buddy! Look over here for Daddy!” Prompto called out from behind the toddler that was playing in front of him, adjusting the camera a bit to catch the boy in action. Nikolas was trying to catch a frog he saw but it seemed it was a bit harder than what he imagined it would be.

 

Nikolas Lucis Caelum was Prompto’s and Noctis’ 4 year old son. He had tousled black hair that more often than not resembled a nest rather than actual hair. It was quite the contrast to his pale skin. He had stunning green eyes which were only further emphasized by the dark freckles that peppered his face under his big rosy cheeks.

 

He was a quiet child; keeping to himself most of the time. He preferred to color in the living room rather than go outside and play. Prompto was trying to get him to get out a little more with these impromptu photo shoots. Nikolas seemed to enjoy them since Prompto often took to him to interesting spots around the kingdom.

 

They have been at the slough for a few hours now. Prompto wanted to get a few pictures of the place while the lighting was good and it was an excuse to take Nik out into nature. The toddler was reluctant at first, taking careful steps through the grass and tightly gripping Prompto’s pants. But after seeing some of the wildlife that surrounded them, he warmed up; especially when he saw the frogs.

 

Nikolas had been chasing the frogs for over an hour, only getting his tiny hands on one before it jumped right out of his hands. Prompto could help but document the entire ordeal, chuckling behind the camera, even after Nikolas had scolded him for laughing at him.

 

Nikolas was sitting down on a rock nearby, looking over at the water in front of him.

 

“Ready to go home buddy?”

 

The boy looked at him with sleepy eyes, rubbing them gently as he nodded. Prompto couldn’t help but laugh at his display. He was just like his Papa.

 

He snapped a few pictures of the tired boy before calling it done. He walked over to Nikolas, picking him up slinging him on his hip. The boy instinctively curled up on his father’s jean jacket, leaning his head on his shoulder.

 

“Sleepy? Ready to go home and take a nap?” Prompto asked, running his fingers through his messy black mop.

 

The boy nodded, rubbing his eyes again. Prompto laid a soft kiss on his cheek before walking towards home.

 

“Too sleepy to get ice cream?”

 

The toddler perked up in his arms as if he was never tired in the first place. Prompto laughed loudly and bounced the boy lightly on his hip.

 

“Ice cream it is then.”

 

\----

 

“Noct! We’re home!” Prompto yelled, setting the now ice cream covered toddler down before closing the door behind him.

 

There was no answer.

 

“Noct!” he called out again.

 

“Papa!” Nikolas called out as well. The boy looked up at Prompto with a sulky frown.

 

“Hey, It’s okay Nikky. We’ll find him.” he said, walking through the living room. The toddler ran off to check the couch in the back room first. It was Noctis’ favorite sleeping spot in the house. But he wasn’t there.

 

Prompto checked their room next. Nothing. Just the messy bed he left this morning when he woke up. He sighed deeply as he ran his hands through his hair. He heard the pitter patter of little feet running towards him. Nikolas pulled on the hem of Prompto’s jacket.

 

“I can’t find him Daddy…” the child said quietly.

 

“Looks like he might be out. I will call him. Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you color while I call him, okay?” Prompto said, ruffling the boy’s messy hair. The toddler nodded and went off to room to grab his coloring stuff.

 

Prompto pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the familiar number. It rang a few times before the line picked up.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey Noct. Where are you? Nikky and I just got home to an empty house. He is freaking out a bit because you aren't home.” Prompto said, starting to walk to the living room. Nikolas walked past him, his arms filled with crayons and markers as well as a notebook.

 

“Oh. My bad. I went out fishing. Gladio and Specs are coming over later so I figured I would catch something for dinner. I didn’t think I would be out that long. Kinda got sucked in.” Noctis’ explained.

 

“It’s okay. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Prompto said, sitting in a nearby chair, keeping an eye on Nikolas, who had laid out all his supplies on the coffee table and carefully separated the crayons from the markers.

 

“How was the photo shoot? Did he cooperate this time?” Noctis asked.

 

“It was better than last time. He really liked the water so I took off his shoes and socks and let him put his feet in. He tried to catch a few frogs too. I got quite a few cute shots of him trying to catch it. He got sleepy though after a bit so we went home.”

 

Noctis’ laughed a little. “A frog huh? Guess he is more like you than we thought Prompt.”

 

“Not even! I never chased frogs unless you managed to get yourself turned into one! Someone had to use the maiden’s kiss on you!” Prompto argued.

 

Noct laughed harder, making Prompto turn a bright shade of pink. He sat back in the chair and sighed deeply.

 

“Okay it wasn’t that funny! Just tell me what time are Gladdy and Iggy coming over so I can clean up a little. I would rather not get another earful from Iggy because of state of the kitchen.”

 

“Gladio said around 4 or 5. Knowing Ignis, it will probably right at 4 o’clock.”

 

Prompto looked over at the kitchen stove for the time.

 

“NOCTTT!” Prompto whined, making Nikolas look up from his current drawing.

 

“What?!”

 

“It’s 3:30! You won’t even be home by then!” Prompto said, standing up and heading to the kitchen to start picking up the dishes over the counter and putting various boxes of sugar cereal in the cabinet.

 

“It is not 3:30 already! It can’t be.”

 

“Tell that to clock on the stove Noctis. It never lied to me before.”

 

“Shit! I hasn’t even felt like I have been out that long. I’m sorry. I’ll be home as soon as I can okay?”

 

“Hurry please. I would rather not have to deal with the rath of Ignis alone.”

 

“I will. Talk to you when I get home.”

 

“Love you Noct.”

 

“Love you too Prom. Bye.”

 

Prompto took the phone from his ear and hung up quickly. He tossed his phone onto the table and turned on the hot water in the sink so he could start washing the massive pile of dishes that were in the sink.

 

“Daddy?” Nikolas asked, looking up from his drawing.

 

“Yeah buddy?” Prompto answered, slipping on the big yellow rubber gloves and grabbing a sponge and the soap.

 

“Uncle Iggy and Uncle Gladdy are coming?” he asked, putting his crayon down.

 

“Yeah. That’s why I gotta clean the kitchen. I don’t want Uncle Iggy to get mad at Papa and I again because we leave it a mess.” he explained, furiously washing the dishes in front of him, not regarding the water that was splashing all over him.

 

“Okay.” he said, turning his attention back to his drawing, making an outline of what could be interpreted as a frog of the sorts. “Are Malena and Neveah coming too?”

 

“Well of course. They can’t just leave them at home buddy.”

 

“Oh okay.” he said quietly, grabbing a green crayon and filling in his lines. Prompto smiled softly and sprayed a heavy cleaner onto the stove to scrub the living daylights out it.

 

\----

 

**_Knock Knock Knock_ **

 

Prompto looked at the time and quietly cursed to himself. 4 oclock on the dot. Just like Noctis said earlier. He sighed deeply and continued to scrub a particularly caked on spot on the stove. He quietly prayed to the Six for their decision to pick a black stove instead of the white one they originally wanted.

 

“Doors open! Come on in!” he yelled, using all his strength to scrub that stubborn spot on the stove.

 

The door opened slowly and in stepped Gladiolus and Ignis. Ignis came in first, with a large black bag slung over on one shoulder and a smaller grey bag on the other. Ignis greeted Nikolas, who was still coloring in is frog, with a soft smile and a wave.

 

Gladiolus came in after and was carrying two infant car seats, one in each hand. He set both down on the floor by loveseat nearby and stretched a little bit, groaning in the process.

 

“They are getting too heavy to be in these things Ig. Think it’s time to just start carrying them in.” Gladio mentioned, pulling his arm across his chest to stretch a bit.

 

“Wouldn’t have expected a man who could still take down a behemoth, if the need was present, to be complaining about carrying in two car seats less than 50 feet from the car.” Ignis snapped back.

 

Gladio rolled his eyes a bit. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you had to carry them.” he muttered under his breath.

 

Nikolas looked up from his drawing finally to see the 2 car seats sitting by the loveseat. He perked up, dropping his crayons down on the table and ran over to where they were at.

 

“Malena! Neveah! They’re here Daddy!” he said excitedly, looking at the purple blanket that covered one seat and a deep blue one covering the other. He looked up at Gladio, silently asking for permission to remove it. Gladio smiled and gave the boy a steady nod. He carefully moved both blankets from the carseats to reveal both sleeping baby girls.

 

“Careful now Nikolas. They have just fallen asleep. They haven’t napped all day.” Ignis said, setting the larger black bag down near Gladio and taking the other bag towards the kitchen.

 

“Calm down Ig. He’s not doing anything to ‘em.” Gladio said, crossing his arms across his chest, glancing over to look at Nikolas.

 

“I would rather not have Malena wake up too early from her nap. She gets rather fussy if awaken too early.” Ignis informed Gladio, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

 

“I know that Ig. She _is_ my daughter too ya know.” Gladio said, looking at the baby.

 

Prompto stepped out the kitchen, his shirt soaking in water and smelling like some strong cleaner. “Hey, guys! Long time no see!” he said with a big smile.

 

“It’s only been two weeks Prompto.” Gladio mentioned. “Where’s Prince Charmless?”

 

“Noct went out fishing to catch something for dinner. He should be home soon.” he explained, pulling the rubber gloves from his hands.

 

“Good because I am starving.” Gladio said, plopping on the couch and putting his muscular arms over the top. Prompto went to the back of the house to change his shirt quickly since he was practically dripping wet.

 

“Uncle Gladdy?” Nikolas asked, his eye still glued to the sleeping babies in front of him.

 

“Yeah Nik? What’s up?”

 

“When are they going to wake up? I want to play with them already.” he asked, turning to face the large man with a soft pout.

 

He shrugged, crossing his legs. “Don’t know bud. Babies need a lot of sleep.”

 

“More than me?”

 

“Way more than you and your Papa combined.”

 

He looked back at the baby girls with wide eyes. “That’s a lot of sleep.”

 

Prompto came back into the room with a clean shirt and dry hands. He looked over at Nikolas, who was sitting criss-cross in front of Malena’s car seat, head in his hands, waiting for her to wake up. Prompto couldn’t help but snap a picture or two of the sweet moment.

 

He walked over to the car seats and squatted down in front of them both to get a good look. He took a long look at Malena then Nevaeh. “Hey Iggy! Both of them are really starting to look like you! Before you know it, they will need their own pair of _spectacles_.” he said, mocking Ignis’ accent with the last word.

 

Malena Marie Amicitia was the “oldest” of the 7 month old twin girls of advisor Ignis Scientia and King’s shield Gladiolus Amicitia. She had a head full of wavy sandy blond hair which was neatly brushed down and held in place with a white headband with a big bow one the side. She had almond shaped hazel eyes and slightly tanned skin, both courtesy of Gladio. Despite both men being tall (and one rather large man) she was tiniest of the two girls, often having to wear clothes for 5 month olds. She was a healthy baby though and it showed in her attitude.

 

Contrary to both her parents, She was bouncy, smiley, and happy most of the time. She loved to smile and laugh and she always enjoys playtime and lots of company. Although she was an overall happy baby, when she isn’t in the mood, it’s very obvious. She get cranky easily when woken up, sending her in a fit of tears until she is calmed down.

 

Nevaeh Arya Amicitia was the “younger” one of the twins. She was bigger than her sister though, being able to fit into clothes meant for others her age.  Malena and Nevaeh were virtually identical as far as looks went. They shared the same sandy blond hair, almond shaped hazel eyes, and tanned skin. Neveah was a happy baby as well, sharing laughs with her sister and enjoying playtime just as much. Unlike Malena, who could be sent into a crying fit easily, nothing really upset the girl,. She stayed quiet and happy, hardly ever cried and slept soundly through all of her naps, not matter how loud it was around her.

 

Ignis typically had the girls presentable and dressed at all times, typically in dresses or little other little outfits he or Gladio found. Today, both girls were wearing a summery type dress with ruffles for sleeves and the same ruffles around the hem and the matching leggings. Malena’s dress was a soft baby pink while Nevaeh’s was a bright shade of yellow. Malena wore a white headband over his head, with a big bow decorating the front. Nevaeh wasn’t fond of headbands (she pulled them right off her head most of the time) so, her hair was pulled into neat little pigtails on each side of her head with little white ribbons hanging from each one.

 

Ignis rolled his eyes at Prompto’s comment before pulling his cooking utensils out of the smaller bag he brought into the kitchen. “I'm surprised you managed to clean the kitchen so well Prompto. It’s almost like you actually tried for once.” he said, taking a look around the freshly cleaned kitchen.

 

“Hey! I try! A lot actually!” He yelled, crossing his arms and pouting a bit like a child.

 

“Shh! For gods sake Prompt you are right next to two sleeping babies. One of which will lose her damn mind if she wakes up too early.” Gladio said, quietly scolding the other man.

 

“Sorry!” Prompto said in a whisper before moving away from the girls. But alas, it was too late, Malena started to stir in her car seat, starting to whine loudly as she woke up. Nevaeh kept sleeping soundly, sucking softly on her pacifier.

 

“Now you have done it.” Gladio said with a deep sigh before digging into the black bag next to him and pulling out another pacifier.

 

Malena started to cry loudly, squirming around in her seat as if she was trying to get out by herself. Nikolas reached out and gently pet the girls head, trying to get her to calm down.

 

“It’s okay Lena. I don't like when anyone wakes me up either.” He said to the infant, still petting her head gently. It didn’t stop her crying but it was a sweet gesture.

 

Gladio smiled and stepped next to the car seat. He pushed a button on the side that caused the handle to swing behind the seat so he could easily grab the crying baby.

 

“Watch out bud. Gotta get her out of here.” Gladio said, leaning down and unbuckling the straps across her chest before grabbing the baby girl with both hands. He gently set her on his chest, where she continued to cry, clinging to her father’s too tight tank top.

 

“I know. I know. You got woken up too early. Blame your uncle Prompto on that one, baby girl.” Gladio said, cutting his eyes towards Prompto before giving the girl her pacifier. She started enthusiastically sucking on the pacifier, calming down enough to stop crying. He started gently bouncing her, holding her to his strong chest.

 

“I didn't mean to! Sorry!” Prompto said, flushing a little pink. “I’ll be quiet next time!”

 

The door suddenly flung open, hitting the wall behind it and Noct took a few steps in with a bag of fish one hand and his tackle box in the other. “Prompt! Nikky! I’m back!”

 

The sudden loud noises made Malena spit out her pacifier and start crying again. Gladio groaned quietly and grabbed the loose pacifier.

 

“Way to go, _your highness_.” Gladio said, in a sarcastic tone as he bounced the girl a little more.

 

“My bad.” Noct said, putting down his tackle box and handing Prompto the bag of fish for Ignis to start cooking. He peeled off his slightly damp jacket off and tossed it on a nearby chair before walking over to his shield and the crying baby. He reached out and grabbed the girl from the stronger man’s arms.

 

“I’m sorry Malena. Come to Uncle Noct.” He said, cradling the girl in his arms. “I didn’t mean to wake you up from your nap.” he said quietly, rocking the girl in his arms.

 

Malena started to cry harder, obvious not wanting to be in _his_ arms at the moment. She squirmed viciously in his arms, trying to escape.

 

“You smell like fish Papa. She probably doesn’t like that.” Nikolas said, looking up at his father, plugging his own nose with his fingers.

 

Ignis came over and carefully grabbed his child from Noctis’ arms, moving her onto his chest so he could rub her back softly. “Nikolas is correct Noct. You smell like the fish market in Lestallum. Might I suggest a shower or at the very least, a change of clothes.” He said, bouncing lightly to keep the cries from getting any louder.

 

Noctis groaned loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. “You guys are all over exaggerating. It is not that bad.”

 

“Noct, I can smell you from over here. Change your clothes ya lazy ass.” Gladio said, plopping back on the couch.

 

Noctis rolled his eyes and headed to the back of the house towards to his room to change.

 

Malena’s crying starting to quiet down after Noctis left to change his clothes. Ignis let out a sigh of relief as his bouncing slowed down as well, whispering a few words into the girl's sandy hair.

 

“Gladio, could you reach in the bag and grab her playmat. I am sure she doesn’t want to go back into her car seat after the fuss she put up.” he said. He turned to Nikolas, who was still sitting in front of the car seats, waiting for Nevaeh.  “Would you like to sit down and play with Malena, Nikolas?” Ignis asked the toddler.

 

Nikolas nodded furiously, quickly moving to get all of his toys out the floor in order for Ignis to lay down the playmat. He tossed the mounds of toy cars, plushes, and random crayons into the bin the the corner of the room.  “I’ll help! I’ll help!” he said, reaching to grab the mat from his uncle’s hands. He carefully laid it out, taking his time to smooth out all the wrinkles, just how Ignis like it.

 

“Good job Nikolas. At this rate, you will be must neater than your parents.” Ignis said with a little smirk. He carefully got down and sat Malena down, fixing her hair a bit under the headband and putting in her pacifier while he was down there. Nikolas sat right next to her, playing her her flailing hands.

 

The baby cooed loudly, clapping her hands a little as Ignis laid out a few toys on the mat in front of her as well. Nikolas sat down next to her and let her little fingers grip onto his.

 

“She's strong!” Nikolas said as she squeezed his fingers.

 

“Got it from her Pop!” Gladio said proudly, patting his chest a bit. Ignis rolled his eyes at the display and headed back into the kitchen to clean the fish for dinner. Even after all these years, and despite the fact that he was now married with a family, he still found himself cooking for Noctis just as often as he used to.

 

Nikolas was helping Malena play with a musical learning ball, fixing her sleeves a bit as they fell off her tiny shoulders.

 

“Are Malena and Nevaeh always dressed this nice, even at home, Uncle Gladdy?” Nikolas asked as he watched Malena push the ball away and stumble forward onto her stomach so she could crawl around.

 

“Yeah. Ig likes them to be ‘presentable’ at all points in time. Just like him. They are always wearing dresses. Dresses and headbands with bows. Those are your Uncle Iggy’s favorite thing to buy. I say, let them run around in their diapers. They like it better anyway.” Gladio said, stretching out on the couch.

 

“There is nothing wrong with them looking presentable every day. You never know who is watching Gladio. It also instills good habits for later in life.” Ignis commented from the kitchen.

 

“More like you have to see them in every outfit you buy them. You see a cute dress or an outfit and have to buy it right away. For someone as frugal as you are, you indulge in buying the girls’ clothes and stuff that they’ll grow out of faster than ya bought it.” Gladio retorted.

 

“Am I not allowed to purchase clothing for my own children now?”

 

“That’s funny coming out of the mouth of a guy who wouldn’t let us get a hotel room while it was pouring rain outside because the room was a little more expensive than what we normally paid.” Noctis interjected, walking back into the room with a fresh outfit on. He walked over to the other twin, who was still sound asleep in her car seat. He reached down and picked up the girl from her seat and set her on his chest, rubbing his hand down her back to keep her asleep.

 

“That was a vastly different situation Noct. I am still as ‘frugal’ as you all remember. I just spare no expense for my girls.” Ignis said, carefully gutting the fish.

 

“So you spoil them?” Prompto pointed out.

 

“Spoil is hardly the correct word to use.” Ignis spat, defending his choices.

 

“Yeah, he spoils ‘em.  I have been trying to convince him for the past 2 weeks to let me get a new belt buckle. He keeps saying that is ‘isn't in the budget’ yet the other day, he came home with 6 new outfits and 4 pairs of shoes for the girls.”

 

“Gladio, for the last time, I will not let you get that god awful belt buckle. Even if we had all the gil in the world, I still would say the exact same thing.” Ignis snapped back.

 

“What’s on the buckle to make you hate it so much Specs?” Noctis asked, still bouncing with Nevaeh on his chest.

 

“It's big and gold and had BAMF on it. I saw it in the market.” Gladio said, puffing his chest out a bit.  “I think it fits me pretty well. It would be a nice addition don't cha think?”

 

All three men rolled their eyes at the statement.

 

“Daddy, what does it mean?” Nikolas asked, trying to keep Malena from crawling off the mat.

 

“What does what mean Nik?” Prompto asked, digging his thumbs into the front of his pants.

 

“What Uncle Gladdy said. The letters.”

 

Prompto almost choked on his spit and shot a look at Gladio, who shrugged. Prompto sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“They are bad words. You don’t need to know them.” Prompto said.

 

“Like what Papa says when he is mad at his phone or out getting fishies?”

 

Ignis chuckled from the kitchen, trying to cough to cover it up. Noctis gave his advisor quite the look.

 

“My apologies but Noctis has always had quite the potty mouth, even when he was younger. Not much a surprise to see Nikolas had figured that much out.”

 

Noctis rolled his eyes hard before setting the second girl down on the mat beside her sister. “I get it. I get it. I need to watch my language around Nik.” he grumbled. He took a seat next to Gladio on the couch, leaning his head back against the backrest.

 

“I could use a nap right about now.” he said to himself, yawning loudly right after.

 

“You always say that Noct.” Prompto pointed out, taking a few pictures of the kids playing together.

 

“Because I could always use a nap. Never a bad time for one.” Noctis said, putting his hands behind his head. “Specs? How’s dinner coming along?”

 

“Slowly but surely. I had to properly clean the fish first. That takes most of the prep time.” Ignis said from the kitchen, slicing the now clean fish into fillets.

 

“What’s for dinner Papa?” Nikolas asked.

 

“Uncle Ig is making fish with rice.” Noctis answered.

 

“Fisssshhhh?” the child whined loudly. “But I don’t like fish!”

 

Gladio held back a laugh, patting Noctis on the back. “Like father like son.”

 

“It will be good I promise. Uncle Iggy can cook way better than your dad and I can.” Noctis said, sitting up to look at the pouty little boy.

 

“I would hardly call it cooking.” Ignis chimed in.

 

“Hey! We really do try! I followed that cookbook you gave me to a T and it still didn’t come out as good as yours.” Prompto said in a half whine.

 

“Practice makes perfect Prompto.” Gladio said, leaning down in front of him to pick up Nevaeh, who had crawled over from the mat. He set her on his lap, holding her up with one hand.

 

“Easy for you to say! You get Ignis’ cooking every day!” Prompto said, with a little pout.

 

“Not every day. I have had to cook more often lately. Iggy couldn’t do much while he was pregnant with the girls so I learned to cook a few things outside of cup noodles. Take out wasn’t really his thing.” the man said, bouncing his knee a little to get Nevaeh to laugh.

 

“Prompto just wanted take-out all the time.” Noctis teased.

 

“Oh, we very much knew that. I remember more than a handful of times having to wake up at strange hours because you needed the car to take Prompto to get a cheeseburger.” Ignis said from the kitchen, now starting to sear the fish in a skillet.

 

Prompto blushed a little bit. “I like cheeseburgers okay? I used to eat them all time when I was younger. The cravings just made me revert back to my old self.” he said, shifting in his seat a little.

 

“What did Specs like to eat Gladio? I am sure he had some fancy ass cravings in the middle of the night.” Noctis asked, turning his head to face the man.

 

He heard a loud cough come from the kitchen along with an accompanied glare in Gladio’s direction.

 

“I would rather not sleep on the couch tonight.” Gladio said, messing with the ribbons Nevaeh’s little pigtails as she noisily chewed on her fingers.

 

“Aw come on Ignis! Tell us! You were all secretive about all that. We hardly ever saw you.” Prompto said, walking towards the kitchen.

 

“And there was a reason why.” he said, flipping the fish over.

 

“You were there every step with Noct and I. Even when I was endlessly throwing up on the side of the road that one time. We weren’t even allowed to return the favor. The least you could do it tell us a little bit about it.” Prompto said, leaning against the door frame with those big blue puppy dog eyes.

 

Ignis cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up on his face. He could hardly say no when he put it that way. “I...I fancied potato chips and those awful snack cakes you find a local gas station.” he said quietly.

 

“What!? Mr. _All-this-junk-is-simply-disgusting_ wanted junk food from the gas station? That's wild!” Prompto yelled out, mocking Ignis.

 

“He also drank those dollar a can, over sweetened, teas. He would beg me to go get him a pack of those chocolate cupcakes and a can of tea all the time.” Gladio added.

 

Ignis’ cheeks flushed a soft pink and he continued to cook the fish in front of him. “It doesn’t matter any longer. I can’t stand to look at the things now. It makes my stomach churn at the sight.”

 

“What were your favorite flavor of chips?” Noctis asked.

 

“Barbeque.” Ignis answered plainly.

 

“Nice choice! I prefer sour cream and onion though.” Prompto said, still leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.

 

“It was a convenient craving so I can not really be upset about it. It wasn’t like I could stand up and whip something up.” Ignis pointed out. “Standing for long periods of time were out of the question. Additionally, my feet were terribly swollen most of the time so having Gladio leave for a few moments to go down the street was fine by me.”

 

“Not to mention you were sick more often than not those first few months. If you wanted to eat something outside of hot broth, I was ready and willing to go everywhere.” Gladio said, lifting the baby in the air above his head with a smile. Ignis stole a glance from the corner of his eye and smiled softly at the display.

 

“It was worth it, though. I got two beautiful little girls who were born happy and healthy and Iggy is here to tell the tale. The fact he is still here was a blessing from the gods anyway.” Gladio said, still playing with a loud and laughing Nevaeh.

 

“I agree. It was worth all the fuss and pain. I’m sure Prompto and Noctis feels the same way about Nikolas.” Ignis said, finishing up the fish and checking on the rice.

 

Prompto walked over to the boy and scooped him into his arms. “Yup!” he said, peppering kisses all over Nik’s cheeks. Nikolas started laughing loudly, pushing Prompto’s face away playfully.

 

“Daddy!” he said through his laugh as Prompto continued kissing the boy.

 

“Looks like dinner is close to ready. About 5 minutes left on the cooking time.” Ignis called out, putting the final touches on the rice.

 

“Come on buddy. Let’s get you all cleaned up so we can eat.” Prompto said, carrying Nik to the bathroom to wash his marker covered hands. Noctis headed to the kitchen to take a look at what Ignis was doing.

 

“Looks good Specs. As always.” Noctis said, trying to tear a small piece off the fish to taste. Ignis swiftly slapped his hand away and give him a glare. Noctis laughed and shrugged away.

 

“Okay. I get it. No tasting.” he said with a smile. The kitchen was quiet for a moment, only the sound of cooking fish echoed through the room.

“You haven't changed Ignis.” he said, his tone shifting just a bit.

 

“The same could be said for you as well Noct. Nice to see fatherhood hasn’t changed you even the slightest bit.” Ignis replied with a soft smile.

 

“Well, Nikolas is pretty much a mini-me so I didn’t have to change much.” Noctis said.

 

“Seeing as I am here cooking nearly the same meal I made for you when you were younger is very telling. Although, it is rather funny that the boy carries such a distaste for fish.” Ignis said with a chuckle as he pulled some plates from the cabinet below.

 

“Well, there was a long period of time where Prompto was trying to learn to cook fish. We ended up eating fish a lot and Nik got tired of it real quick.” Noct explained, sitting in the nearby counter. Ignis rolled his eyes as the younger man sat on the counter but he would save the argument and let him sit there this one time.

 

“Oh, poor child. I would have come much more often if that was the case. He probably hasn't had a proper meal in weeks.” Ignis joked, starting to fix plates for everyone. Noctis chuckled softly as he leaned back on the counter, watching Ignis finish making everyone's plates.

 

“Could you at the very least get some silverware ready for the table?” Ignis asked, carrying the various plates to the table in the room over. Noct sighed and jumped off the counter and gave himself a good stretch before heading over to the nearby drawer to grab a handful of forks and knives, including one fork shaped like a Chocobo for Nik and took it to the table.

 

Everyone was already in the dining room waiting for the food.

 

A very grumpy and pouty Nikolas was next to Prompto after arguing that he was a big boy now and could sit in the chair without the help of the booster seat. Unfortunately for Nik, he wasn’t even tall enough to get his entire head over the table so he was forced to sit in the seat yet again.

 

Gladio had both girls sitting on the tabletop in front of him while he dug into the black bag from earlier to find their food. Without their high chairs, he wasn't sure where to put them while they fed them so he just hoped Ignis didn’t freak out when he saw them on the table.  Both girls were sitting, waiting patiently for their Pop; Malena sucking away on her pacifier while Nevaeh had her hand in her mouth yet again, that is, until she saw Ignis walk into room, plates of food in hand. She cooed loudly, leaning forward on her hands and knees to crawl over to the other side of the table. She managed to crawl over to where he was, and plopped down right here, reaching her hands up in their air with a coo and big smile.

 

Ignis couldn’t help but crack a smile at the girl. “I was only gone but a moment Princess.” He said with a smile as set the other plate down nearby. He picked her up and places a soft kiss on her cheek, slinging her on his hip. “Seems your father has been messing with your hair again.” he said, using his free hand to push the stray hairs back into the pigtails.

 

“I was trying to fix the ribbons. They looked a little tight.” Gladio chimed in, setting out a few jars of baby food out on the table. Ignis shook his head in a playful manner before heading back to the kitchen to grab more plates.

 

Noctis bought out two more plates, setting one in front of Gladio and the other in his spot. Ignis came back with a small plate for Nikolas, setting down his plate in front of the toddler before sitting down next to Gladio. Gladio already started feeding Malena, who was already making a mess as usual.

 

Ignis set Nevaeh down on his lap, reaching over to grab one of the jars in front of Gladio.

 

“Ahh I do not miss those days. I celebrated the day Nik could eat on his own. I made sure to put a spoon in his hand as early as I could.” Prompto said, watching the other parents.

 

“Eh. I kinda miss when he was that small. He was a pretty cute baby.” Noctis said, taking a bite of his food.

 

“He’s a pretty cute little boy too!” Prompto said with a smile. He took a huge bite of his dinner and the noise he made was almost unholy. “So good! Tastes great Iggy!”

 

“Thank you Prompto.” Ignis said, feeding a spoon full pureed sweet potatoes to an awaiting Nevaeh.

 

Nik was poking at his dinner, moving it across the plate with a pout still on his face. Prompto sighed deeply and reached over to the boys plate and picked up a small bit on his fork. “Come on buddy. Try it first before you say you don’t like it.” he said, putting the fork up to his lips. Nikolas shook his head and turned away.

 

“Fish is gross.” he said plainly.

 

“But this isn’t my fish. This is wayyyy better than mine. I promise it will taste good.” Prompto coaxed, but it wasn’t working. Nik pushed his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest. Prompto sighed deeply and went back to his plate.

 

“Nikolas.” Noctis said sternly, looking up from his food. The boy didn't budge, still looking away from his plate of food.

 

“You have to eat something Nik. You won’t get anything else if you don’t eat something. At least just eat the rice.” Noctis suggested.

 

The boy looked back at his plate and pushed the fish off to the side so he could eat the rice.

 

“You spoil that boy. He is just like his damn Father.” Gladio said, finally able to start eating his own dinner.

 

“If he is just like me, then there’s practically nothing we can do to make him eat something he doesn’t want to.” Noctis pointed out with a grin.

 

“I can attest to that. I was quite difficult to get Noctis to eat anything that wasn’t fried or smothered in some vile sauce.” Ignis said, taking a bite of his dinner and giving a tiny piece of fish to Nevaeh as well.

 

“Hey! I got better with age.” Noctis pointed out, his mouth still full of food from his bite.

 

“If that is what you would like to call it.” Ignis said, taking another careful bite. Nevaeh whined loudly, lunging forward to get another bite of his food. He held her back gently and gave her another bite of fish. “At least Nikolas will attempt to eat his vegetables.” Ignis added.

 

Noctis rolled his eyes and took another bite. Nikolas had finished eating the rice on his plate, leaving his fish untouched. Prompto looked over and dropped his head a bit.

 

“If you try the fish, I’ll let you get 2 cookies for dessert tonight. If you don’t like it, it’s fine but you gotta give it a try first.” Prompto said, attempting to bribe the kid to eat.

 

Nikolas looked at the fish on his plate, then at Prompto, then back at his plate again. “Can I get a choco pudding and a cookie instead?” he asked, poking the fish with his fork.

 

“Pudding and cookie it is! But you gotta have a whole bite. Not a baby one.” Prompto said, leaning over and taking a piece with his fork and holding up to the boy’s face. Nikolas grimaced and leaned forward to put the fork in his mouth. He made sure to get the whole bite before pulling away and chewing slowly, his brows furrowing and whining under his breath.

 

The men at the table couldn’t help but laugh at Nikolas’ facial expressions. It was clear that no matter who cooked the fish, his mind wasn’t going to change. The boy managed to swallow it all the way down before looking at Prompto with sad eyes.

 

“I don’t ever want that again…” he whined. Prompto cracked a smile and ruffled the boy’s messy head.

 

“Okay buddy. You don't have to. Always gotta try it first before you make a choice to not like it.” Prompto said, taking the fish from Nik’s plate and putting it onto his.

 

“Can I get my pudding nowww? The fishy is still in my mouth! Blegh!” Nikolas whined, taking a huge gulp of juice.

 

The entire table started to laugh in response.

 

\---

 

Prompto finished gathering up all the dishes from dinner and headed into the living room where everyone was settling down. He stood in the doorway and watched everyone for a moment.

 

Nikolas was sitting on Noctis’ lap as they watched whatever was on tv at the moment, devouring his pudding cup, his face covered in the chocolate goo.

 

Ignis was attempting to change Malena out of her now pureed pea and carrot covered dress while she thrashed around in protest.

 

Gladio was playing with Nevaeh on the floor, pretending to bench press the girl, giving her a kiss every time she came down.

 

Prompto smiled brightly, leaning up against the doorframe to watch everyone.

 

Even though they had all moved on, gotten older, and had families now, it never changed them. They could still get together like they did years ago and still act the same way they always did. Even with the kids around, it was still like the good ol’ days they cherished. It was pretty nice, Prompto thought for a moment before heading into the living room himself with his signature big smile, settling in the spot next to Noct, laying his head on his shoulder while Noct put his arm around the blond.

 

Some things never did change.

  
  



	2. Morning Routine (pt.1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Gladio get the twins ready for the day ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> I get inspired to write these things by kids I see at work lol.
> 
> Today's chapter was inspired by a cute girl I saw at work. She was quietly watching me clean up from her dad's arms and when I smiled and waved, (like I do with most babies) she giggled and it was the cutest thing ever. Right afterwards I imagined the scenario if it was put into this parent AU of mine and alas this chapter was born!
> 
> Next chapter will be the same concept, a morning routine, but this time it will be in the Lucis Caelum household. That is going to be a fun one!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy.

 

Ignis’ day started to same as it always had. 

 

He naturally woke up to around dawn, freeing himself from Gladio’s grip so he could make his morning cup of coffee.

 

He made his coffee the same he always did. Black with 2 sugars. He walked out onto the patio and watch the sunrise until he was finished with the first cup. There once was a time where he was satisfied with just one cup in the morning but as life changed, so did his coffee drinking habits. 

 

It also didn’t help that he went nine months without his dear drink since caffeine was one of the few things he wasn’t allowed to have when he was pregnant. Now that the girls were growing up, he found himself drinking an entire pot by the time everyone rolled out of bed.

 

He poured his second cup of coffee then headed over to the girls’ room to check on them. He still was always a bit wary of them being in the room by themselves now, even if they had baby monitors with video in their room. He would often wake up in the middle of the night and go check on them or he would wake up to watch the monitors for a while, making sure they were sleeping soundly.

 

They had been in his and Gladio’s room up until about a month and a half ago. Ignis was too afraid to leave them in a room separate from them. He wanted to be able to reach them quickly if something were to happen. Gladio gave Ignis peace of mind by buying the baby monitors with video but it didn't make him any less worried. 

 

Gladio had complained that he spent months making the “perfect” nursery for the girls and they didn't even use it. So Ignis sucked it up and reluctantly moved their girls into their own bedroom.

 

He took a quick look in both cribs and both were peacefully sleeping, stuffed animals in their arms.

 

He smiled softly and left the room to head over to their bathroom to take a shower. He set his coffee down on the dresser before heading in.

 

He always took long showers even when he was younger. It was his only time where he could be by himself without the threat of someone messing up his train of thought. Plus, waking up this early to take an hour long shower was nice since no one was going to even so much as roll over in bed until around 8. Gladio sometimes would wake up afterward, mumbling something to Ignis about waking up too damn early and telling him what he wanted for breakfast before nodding back to sleep.

 

After the water started to run cold, Ignis finally decided to leave the shower and prepare for the day ahead. It was a casual day since all he was going to do was meet with Noctis and Prompto later on so he didn’t worry about getting dressed up. He put back on his pajamas. It was good enough until they were getting ready to leave. Plus, he would rather not have another nice dress shirt of his ruined by giving the girls a bath later on.

 

He grabbed his lukewarm coffee and headed back into the girls’ room to pick out an outfit for each of them. Ignis took a long sip of the drink as he thought about the day. He wanted to let them play around in the park today to burn off some energy before they met with the others. so an outfit that could take the various grass stains would be the one for today. He decided on a simple patterned t-shirt and jean shorts for both girls. 

 

He set both outfits out on the dresser and went looking for shoes to match. As he was deep in the closet looking for a match to a purple sparkly shoe, he heard one of the girls stirring.

 

He set the shoe down and headed over to the crib so see the fussy child. He was expecting it to be Malena, as she was always the one fidgeting in the night, but it was Nevaeh instead. She had managed to pull herself up to stand up and hold on to the bars of the crib so she could look at him through it.

 

“What is the matter, darling? You shouldn’t be awake at this hour. It’s much too early.” He said, reaching into the crib to pick her up and put her on his chest. He started to rub her back to get her fall back asleep but there was no such luck. She fought back, trying to lift her head to see him.

 

“Seems like you ready for the day. That's quite alright. You can spend the morning with daddy then.” He said moving her from his chest to his hip, grabbing her pacifier out the crib and putting it in her mouth. He grabbed his coffee with his free hand and headed toward the kitchen. He set his coffee cup off to the side for another cup later on.

 

“Let’s see what we have in here so we can make Pop breakfast.” He said to the girl in his arms. She cooed happily in response. Ignis smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading to the refrigerator. He used his free hand to open it up and pull out a carton of eggs as well as a pack of bacon.

 

“That should suffice, don't you think Nay?” He said, using the girl's nickname. She gripped onto his sleep shirt and laid her head down on his shoulder, sucking softly on her pacifier.

 

He chuckled and grabbed a skillet from the rack above them and put it on the stove for the bacon. It wasn't long before the smell of cooked bacon brought Gladio out of his slumber.

 

He walked out into the living room, rubbing his eyes and groaning loudly. “Mmmm...smell bacon...” he grumbled.

 

“Well, bacon is cooking. Figured you would want a decent breakfast after the long night you had.” Ignis pointed out, shifting Naveah on his hip.

 

Gladio fully opened his eyes and smiled softly at the display in front of him. 

 

Ignis, who had always been prim and proper by this time in the morning since the day they met, still in his pajamas (even after his shower) with his hair down and undone, without his glasses on, and holding their daughter tightly on his hip as he cooked breakfast. It was quite the sight. He managed to snap a quick picture to send to Noct later as proof that Ignis  _ was  _ still human.

  
  


He walked over to the two and pressed a kiss to Ignis’ cheek. “Mornin Ig”

 

“Good morning Gladio.” Ignis said with a soft smile before turning to give him a quick kiss.

 

“What this little love bug doing up this early?” He asked with a smile as he tickled her chest, which made her giggle into her pacifier.

 

“I was picking out outfits for the girls when I heard shuffling in the bed. I looked over and she had stood herself up and was looking at me through the bars of the crib.” Ignis explained, flipping the bacon over. “She refused to be put back to bed so she has been keeping me company.”

 

“She is going be a sleepy mess by the middle of the day.” Gladio said, heading over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.

 

“I know. But that should be fine since we have an easy day ahead.” 

 

“Iris texted me last night and asked is she ever going to see her nieces ever again so I assume she means she wants us to stop by. She's so damn dramatic.” He groaned.

 

“That sounds reasonable. I was thinking of going to the park later but we can go see Iris instead. Will your father be there as well?”

 

“Probably not. He's busy during the day. I’ll ask anyway. He might want to see ‘em too. Been awhile since we brought them over.” Gladio said, sipping the bitter drink.

 

“I agree. My uncle had had the same complaint. We should arrange a time every few weeks for us to bring them to see family. It would eliminate the problem of them not seeing the girls for months.” 

 

“Yeah. Probably.” he said, sipping his drink. “Still not used to all this yet.”

 

“Well our lives have changed quite drastically so I would not have expected you or even I to make the transition easy.”

 

“You've been taking care of Noct since as long as I can remember so you are used to stuff like this.”

 

“Yes, but unlike with Noct, I can't just drop them off and go home for the night.” He explained. “I will admit though that both Malena and Nevaeh are better behaved than Noctis ever was. I'm quite thankful for that.”

 

“Let's just hope they stay that way. I mean Mal is a brat but not near as bratty as Noct.”

 

Ignis let out a soft chuckle. “Well not yet anyway.” He said, taking the strips of bacon out the pan and putting them onto a plate. He grabbed another skillet off the rack and put it down on the stove as well. 

 

“How would you like your eggs?”

 

“Over easy.” He said, taking another sip of his coffee. “Do you want me to take her so you can cook?”

 

Ignis grabbed an egg with this free hand and cracked it right into the hot skillet. He added three more quickly afterward. “It's quite alright. I've been fine thus far. Also, I highly doubt she will let you take her from me at this moment.” He said, glancing over to see Nevaeh laying her head on his shoulder, watching him cook quietly as she sucked on her pacifier.

 

Gladio took a moment to admire the infant’s idle face. 

 

“Look how damn cute she is. We make pretty nice looking babies Iggy.” 

 

“Don't think you are talking me into any more children anytime soon.” He snapped.

 

“Wasn't gunna. But you know who is.” Gladio said, stealing a price of bacon from the plate.

 

“Clarus.” He said with a slight tinge to the tone.

 

“Mmmhhm. He always wanted a big family. He always imagined I was going to be the one to give it to him for some odd reason.”

 

Ignis sighed deeply as he watched the eggs cook carefully below him. That was a thought he was going to push away for the moment. 

 

“Told him we weren't going to having any more for a long time but he doesn't seem to listen to me. Keeps telling me the story of how Iris was a surprise after he and mom decided they only wanted one kid.”

 

Ignis rolled his eyes and grabbed two plates from above him. “He always tells that story.” He said, sliding half of the cooked eggs into one plate and half on the other.

 

“Remember how he acted when he found out that Noct was having a kid before me?”

 

“Yes, I remember. Very vividly actually. Asking me when we were going to decide to move on in our lives and make something of ourselves. I've never bitten my tongue so hard in my life.”

 

He put a couple of slices of bacon on the plate next to the eggs. He handed Gladio the plate of food and Gladio thanked him with a kiss.

 

“Can you check on Malena, please? I'm going to make something for the girls for breakfast.”

 

Gladio took the plate with him to the back of the house to check on the other girl. Ignis, still holding Nevaeh on his hip, pulled out a container of strawberries out the fridge as well as a container of plain yogurt. He set those down and grabbed a couple of bananas.

 

“She's still out cold. I'm not waking her up either.” Gladio said, sitting down at the table with the rest of his food. He grabbed a fork and shoved a bite into his mouth

 

“That's fine. We did wake up earlier than usual.” He said, heading over towards him. He looked over at Neveah, who was still peacefully watching him. “Okay darling, you have to go to Pop now so I can make you breakfast.” He said, pulling the girl from his shoulder. She started to whine loudly, not letting go of his shirt.

 

“Nevaeh. Sweetie. You have to let go. I'll be right back, okay.” He said, peeling her from him and handing her over to Gladio. He headed over to the fruits and grabbed a cutting board to slice them up.

 

She whined again, spitting out her pacifier in the process. She reached out with both hands, whining loudly to get Ignis’ attention as he walked away. Gladio’s grip around just got tighter as she tried to leave the seat. She started to cry, trying to wiggle her way out of Gladio’s grip. 

 

“Daddy is coming back. Relax. He is making food for you.” Gladiolus said to the girl with a mouth full of food. “Starting to act like your sister here, love bug.” 

 

Ignis took all the fruits over to their blender in the corner. He had a fair share of regular jars of baby food on hand but if he had the time, he liked to make something for them himself. It gave him a little more peace of mind and girls seemed to like it much more than the other food. He put all the fruit and some of the yogurt in the blender and pureed it all together. He quietly thanked the gods for whoever got him the industrial strength blender as a wedding gift. It always went to good use.

 

It didn't take long for it to be blended into a smooth paste. Ignis grabbed a tiny bowl from the cabinet as well as a baby spoon from the drawer below. He poured some of the mixture in the bowl, grabbed his own breakfast, and headed over towards the table.

 

Gladio slipped her into her high chair as Ignis walked up. “See I told you he was going to be right back.” Gladio said, ruffling the girl’s hair. Ignis pulled up a chair right next to the chair and set his plate of food and the bowl next to him. He picked up a fair amount of the fruit puree and put it up to the infant’s lips.

 

The girl grinned as soon as she smelled the fruits. She cooed loudly and opened her mouth, ready for her breakfast. Ignis chuckled lowly and put the spoon full of fruits into the girl's mouth.

 

Gladio watched them from the other side of the table with a smile on his face. Seeing Ignis relaxed and happy like this filled him with warmth. He took a large sip of his drink and smiled. “The girls really helped you open up and relax more Iggy. It’s pretty nice.”

 

“You think so? I feel the same as I always have. I just spend a bit more time on other activities now rather than the things I used to do. I can't schedule anything with a pair of infants. It would in ruins by the time they woke up. It's taken some getting used to. But, I will admit  it is rather comfortable to be in pajamas this late in the morning.” He joked, giving Nevaeh another spoon full.

 

The tender moment was quickly interrupted by a loud cry from the back of the house. 

 

“Sounds like Malena is awake. I'll go get her.” Gladio announced, getting up and heading to the nursery. He came back with Malena, who was sprawled out on her father's chest, still half asleep.

 

“Ready for breakfast sweet pea?” Gladio asked the cranky baby. She curled up on his chest as a way of protest. “I'll take that as a no.” he said with a chuckle as he held her tightly, one arm under her thighs and the other over her back. He pressed a kiss into her bed head and smiled.

 

“You can give her a bath. I'm sure she will be want to eat after she wakes up fully.” Ignis said, putting another spoonful it fruit into Nevaeh’s mouth.

 

“Will do.” Gladio said, heading over to the closet in the hallway to grab the baby bath tub, a washcloth, and soap. He set the little tub on the counter by the sink and let the water run a little warm before filling it with water and a little bit of soap.

 

“Did you buy a different soap, Iggy? This doesn't look like the one that we normally use.” He asked as he freed Malena of her pink onesie and diaper.

 

“Yes. The other wash we had was making both girls itch after a bath so I did a bit of research and bought a different brand. Hopefully, it works to keep them from scratching all day. I would rather not have to see a doctor and have a repeat of the last visit we had.” Ignis said, continuing feeding the twin he had.

 

Gladio grunted in agreement before putting Malena in the warm water. He cupped some water in his hands and dropped it over her shoulder and head. 

 

Malena let out a soft whine, reaching out to grab Gladio so she could climb out. Gladio sighed a little before putting her arms back in the tub. It only made her whine louder.

 

“I know you are sleepy, sweet pea, but, I gotta wash ya up. You still got last night's dinner in your hair.” He said, putting one hand over her eyes and dumping more water on her head.

 

She started to cry, not fully understanding the sudden waterfall or her father's hands over her eyes. She splashed water around, trying to free herself from his hand. Gladio sighed deeply and pulled his hand from her eyes. “You are so cranky when you wake up Mal. You’d think you are your Uncle Noctis’ kid.” He joked as he squeezed some soap into the washcloth and started to wash her up, starting with her arms. 

 

Ignis gave the last spoonful of the pureed fruit to Nevaeh before putting the bowl off to the side. “It’s time your bath as well. You have made quite the mess.” he said, grabbing a napkin to wipe some of the mess off her face.

 

“Hear that Malena, your sister’s coming over to join the bath party too.” Gladio said as he finished with her arms and moved to her back and chest. She had started to calm down now, enjoying herself a little more now that there weren't waterfalls coming down on her head.

 

Ignis gathered up the other tub and a washcloth and set it down on the counter next to Gladio. He followed suit with the same amount of water and soap before putting the fruit covered baby in the water.

 

As they both washed the twins, Ignis would catch himself looking over at Gladio every so often. He was a spectacular father just as he had always expected he would be. He did practically raise Iris himself so he had more experience with raising girls than Ignis did. He knew how to have more fun with them than Ignis did. The extent of his knowledge of kids came from being Noctis’ advisor. He knew it was going to take himself a little longer to get acquainted with being a parent while he expected Gladio to breeze by. He didn’t expect, however, for him to be so head over heels in love with being a parent. He had seen the way he was with Iris and with Noctis over these years. He was always the strong hand when it came to discipline and didn’t put up with attitudes or things of that nature. But with the girls, he was very different. 

 

He spoiled them rotten (which no different than Ignis at this point) by getting them whatever they wanted, taking them out to play when they were supposed to be taking naps, taking them out to play at the park or even just the grass in the front of their building, and all sorts of other things they would do together. He even heard that he was planning on taking the girls to the Citadel so he could show them off to the Crownsguard. He was incredibly proud to a father and it showed in everything that he did. Ignis found it extremely charming and reminded him why he fell in love with him in the first place.

 

\----

 

Gladio was pretty much finished with Malena’s bath, but not after she threw a fit because she had to to get her hair washed. The ordeal made Gladiolus glad he chose not to put on a shirt this morning when he woke up. Ignis didn’t come out as lucky and was caught in the crossfire. The right side of his shirt had gotten pretty wet but wasn’t anything he wasn't already used to. 

 

Gladio grabbed the towel nearby and wrapped it around the baby as he pulled her out. He wrapped her up tight and pushed the wet locks of hair out of her eyes. “All done.” he said in a little sing-song tone as he ran the towel through her hair. “See all that fussin’ for nothing.”  

 

“I set out a majority of their outfits already. I am missing the shoes but we can find them later. Feel free to pick whichever set calls out to you. I didn’t get around to figuring out who was wearing what today.” Ignis said as he continued to wash Nevaeh.

 

“Gotcha.” he said as he headed back to the nursery. He laid the squirming baby down on the changing table and dried her off completely, strapping on a diaper faster than she could crawl away.

 

“There ya go. All clean!” Gladio said with a smile, pressing a kiss into her belly. She laughed loudly putting her hands over his face, causing Gladio to chuckle and blow a few raspberries into her belly. Their laughs echoed throughout the house, making Ignis chuckle as well. It wasn’t long before both Ignis and Nevaeh entered the room as well. 

 

“Sounds like you two are having quite the party back here.” Ignis commented.

 

Gladio picked up the still giggling girl and offered up the changing table. “She finally woke up all the way. Figured I'd give her a few kisses as a reward.” Gladio said, putting the freshly washed child onto his hip.

 

“A reward for waking up? I am sure Noctis would have lost his mind for something that nice.” Ignis joked as he dried off the other twin.

 

Gladio scoffed. “He’s not my own. Plus, gettin' this girl up is almost as bad as Noct so I am trying to give her incentive to want to wake up now so we don’t have to deal this problem later.” he explained, running his fingers through Malena’s still damp hair.

 

“Sounds like a solid idea.” Ignis said, putting a new diaper on the girl before grabbing the bottle of baby lotion that was nearby. “She’s probably worked up the appetite by now. I put a small bowl for her in the refrigerator.” 

 

Gladio nodded and took the diapered child back into the kitchen and into a high chair. It wasn’t five minutes into feeding before she started making a mess like she always did. Gladio could help but laugh at the girl as she cooed loudly, painting the tray of her highchair with her breakfast.

 

“And your daddy never understands why I just leave you in a diaper sometimes.” he said quietly, managing to get the spoon in her mouth.

 

\----

 

“I just got a text from Iris asking what time we’d be over. She said my dad was going to try to leave a little early so he could see the girls too.” Gladio said to Ignis as he gently braided Nevaeh's little bangs back so he could brush it into a ponytail. Malena sat on the floor in front of him, her hair pulled into a little bun on the top of her head with her bangs swooped over her forehead and blue bow in the middle of the bun.

 

Ignis had finally gotten dressed for the day while Gladio was doing the girls’ hair. He figured to wearing something casual since nothing really needed to be done today. He wore his favorite gray short sleeve and his usual pair of pants which were nicely pulled over his boots.

 

“We are almost done here. After you get dressed for the day, we can head over there.” Ignis said, fixing his hair in a mirror nearby before heading towards them. He scooped up Malena and put her on his hip.

 

“You always do a fantastic job with their hair Gladio.” Ignis complimented, looking over his handy work. 

 

“They finally got enough hair for me to do somethin' with.” Gladio pointed out, taking the small brush and carefully brushing the back of her hair up into the ponytail, not wanting to mess up the braid in the front.

 

“It’s growing rather fast. It’s nearly past their ears at this point.” Ignis said, fixing the bow just a little bit.

 

“Well, we both got nice hair. Only natural that they would get nice hair too. Still pretty shocked they ended up with such a light hair color.” Gladio continued as he tied her hair up and pulled it tight, making the girl whine in his lap. “Sorry love bug.” he whispered before kissing her cheek.

 

“Genetics is quite fascinating isn't it?” Ignis said, heading over to the side table where they kept the diaper bag. He used his free hand to check through the bag to make sure everything was in order.

 

Gladio slipped a ribbon around the ponytail, tying it into a little bow. “Done.” he said, taking a good look at the hairstyle before setting her down on the floor. “I am going to get dressed. I’ll be right back.” he said to Ignis as he headed out the room. Nevaeh crawled over to Ignis, pulling on his pant leg as she got nearby.

 

“I know you want to be held but it’s time to get you two into your car seats while Pop gets dressed.” he said, crouching down to pick up the other twin as well. With both girls in his arms, he headed over to their car seats, which were nearly put against the wall. He got down again, putting one girl down at a time. Once his arms were free, he put the handle back on each seat and unbuckled the fasteners and opened them up so he wouldn't have to dig under to find them once the girls were in.

 

Malena tried to crawl away while Nevaeh was patiently waiting, her eyes already droopy as she was ready for a nap. Ignis strapped in Nevaeh first, making sure everything was okay before running to catch Malena.

 

He quickly scooped her up and pressed a few kisses onto her cheeks. “Don’t run away from Daddy now! I will always get you. No matter what.” he said with a smile and few more scattered kisses on her face, making the girl giggle in return. He walked back over to the car seats and Nevaeh had already had her eyes closed as she wormed around in her seat to make it more comfortable for her nap.

 

Ignis set Malena down into the seat as Gladio entered the room in his typical tank top and dark wash jeans. “She’s out already huh?” Gladio asked, looking at the sleeping child as he slipped on his boots.

 

“Well, she did wake up rather early. I assumed it would catch up to her around this time. She did try and fight the will to sleep for a while now.” he mentioned as he strapped Malena in as well.

“That’s a better car ride for us. Mal is gunna fall asleep as soon as we hit the road, like always.” he said, running his hand through his hair,

 

“It will be a quiet car ride indeed.” Ignis pointed out. He stood up and grabbed the diaper bag and the car keys from the side table. 

 

He put the bag over his shoulder and shoved the keys into his pocket before walking over to Gladio. He put his hand on the back of his husband’s neck and pulled him down into a lingering kiss. It wasn’t a long one but it was enough to make Gladio melt a little. They pulled away put Gladio put a firm hand around Ignis’ waist to keep him close.

 

“What was that for?” he asked quietly, pressing his forehead against the other man.

 

“For being a wonderful husband and splendid father. I am not the only one who has changed since the twins have come around.” Ignis mentioned, playing with the soft hair on the back of Gladio’s neck.

 

“Someone’s feeling sweet today.” Gladio teases, pecking the other’s lips once more.

 

“Don’t make me take it back. You know my compliments are few and far in between.”

 

“Okay okay. I’ll take it. It’s just not often I hear nice words comin' out of that mouth of yours Ig.” he said, pushing a stray hair out of Ignis’ face.

 

“I was watching you today with Malena and it made me very happy to see you so dedicated to being a father. It’s quite the sight if I say so myself.”

 

Gladio smiled softly and leaned down to press their lips together just more.

 

“I love being a dad to those little girls. They are the light of my life. Can’t imagine my life without em now. Same could be said about you. Thank you, Iggy. Thank you for bringing these beautiful baby girls into our lives.”

 

“You have been reading one too many romance novels.” Ignis said with a coy smile before pulling away from his grip. Gladio chuckled a bit before looking down at both girls, who had already fallen asleep while they were talking.

 

“A simple ‘your welcome’ would have been nice too.” Gladio joked as he prepared to lift up both car seats.

 

“I am not the only one that needs to be thanked. It took both of us to make them and it takes both of us to care for them. With an ego as big as yours, you should give yourself a little more credit than that.” Ignis said, leaning over and grabbing one of the seats and heading towards the door. 

 

Gladio smiled and grabbed the other seat, walking right behind the other man.

 

“Hey, Iggy.”

 

“Yes?” Ignis asked, huffing a bit at the weight of the car seat. Gladio tried to contain his laughter.

 

“I love you.” he said simply.

 

“That’s wonderful Gladio but I need the energy to carry this seat. They are much more heavy in these seats than I originally thought.” he muttered.

 

“I told ya we needed to start carrying them in but I distinctly remember you telling me ‘a man who can take down a behemoth could carry two seats’.”

 

“Oh shut it Gladio.” Ignis said with a loud huff. Gladio laughed loudly, slipping past Ignis to get to the car door first.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a headcanon that Gladio is great at doing the twins hair since he had to help Iris a Lot when she was younger
> 
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> Follow me on Tumblr! I don't bite and my chat and ask box are always open! 
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> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears
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> Feedback and kudos are always and forever appreciated as well!
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> Thanks for reading!


	3. Morning Routine pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A morning with Nikolas, Prompto, and Noctis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!
> 
> I had to do a morning routine for Noct and Prompto, seeing as Gladio and Ignis got one.
> 
> I'm so in love with these kids already and I can't take it. Someone help me lol
> 
> This chapter was inspired by seeing a picture of a toddler eating cereal in their pajamas and they were tall enough to see over the table so they were on their knees to eat. It was pretty darn cute if I say so myself.
> 
> Also it was inspired by this post on tumblr
> 
> <http://alarnia.tumblr.com/post/158402828659/kumagawa-kumagawa-i-was-banned-from-taking>  
> 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!!

Nikolas carefully opened his parents door, stepping inside quietly as he continued to cry softly.

 

“Papa? Daddy?” Nikolas whined, wiping the built up tears from his eyes. 

 

Prompto hears the crying first, sitting up in his spot and rubbing his eyes in order to see the child clearly. He was crying, standing at the foot of their bed in nothing but his new Chocobo underwear and his stuffed frog in his arm. (The boy wasn’t too fond of sleeping in clothes.)

 

Noctis groaned in his sleep, turning over to look at the time. Its was 2:30 in the morning. He groaned louder and pulled the blanket over his head. Prom could handle it.

 

“W-what’s wrong Nikky?” Prompto asked, half asleep.

 

“I had a scary dream...can me and Mr. Froggy sleep with you? Please?” he said quietly, making his way closer to their bed. 

 

“Sure buddy. Come on.” Prompto said, patting the spot in between him and Noct. Nikolas ran over the Prompto’s side and crawled up in the spot, settling into the covers and pulling the stuffed frog to his chest.

 

“Comfy?” Prompto asked, laying back down on the bed and pulling the covers over his shoulders. 

 

Nikolas nodded and snuggled closer to Prompto, sighing happily. Prompto laid a kiss on his forehead and closed his eyes to head back to sleep.

 

\-----

“Ouch! God damn it Nik.” Noctis groaned, rubbing his aching side.

 

Nikolas was sprawled out over the bed, one leg over Noct’s stomach, his head on Prompto’s chest, and elbow in Prompto’ ribs.  He had another flailed leg under Noct’s back, kicking him enough to drive him mad. Didn’t help that the boy was sweating like it was a hot day in Lestallum in his sleep. Both men sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling.

 

“It’s 5 am…” Prompto said in a hushed tone to Noctis who was lying awake next to him.

 

“I know. Don't remind me.” Noctis whispered back. “Not like I can go back sleep with his foot lodged in my back.”

 

“At least you don't have a bony elbow in your ribcage. I’m going to be bruised tomorrow.”

 

“You bruise like a peach Prom.” Noctis said, finally turning to look at Prompto. “He won’t even move. Kid’s like a rock. We knew this was going to happen yet we let him do it every time.”

 

“You should have seen him Noct. He was all crying and sniffling with his little frog in his hand. I couldn’t say no to him while he looked like that. It's too much. He could get away with murder with a face like that!”

 

“Next time he asks, just remember his elbow in your ribs. That will make you easily say no to him.” He said, shifting a bit to go back to sleep, that is until Nikolas managed to kick him in the small of his back.

 

Noctis groaned loudly and Prompto couldn't help but laugh.

 

\-----

 

“Papa, you look sleepy.” Nikolas said, as he barely peered up from over the table with his mouth full of sugary cereal and milk. He decided he didn't want to use his booster seat, as he was a self-proclaimed “big boy”. Both Prompto and Noctis let it pass this time, not wanting to argue with the 4 year old after the sleepless night they had.

 

Noct sat at the other end of the table, moving his cereal back and forth in his bowl.

 

“I'm fine buddy. Don't worry about me.” He said, haphazardly putting a bite of soggy flakes in his mouth.

 

“Okay.” He said, opening his mouth to get another bite but instead, hitting the spoon against the table and dropping the spoonful all over his lap.

 

“Seriously Nikky? That's the 2nd time this morning. If you keep spilling, I'm going to have to get your booster seat.” Prompto said, grabbing a napkin to clean the chunks of cereal off his lap.

 

“Noooooo! Daddy nooo!” The child whined loudly, flailing his legs a little.

 

“Then be careful Nikolas.” Noctis said sleepily. 

 

The toddler nodded and went to sit on his knees on the chair so he could finally see above the table. He put his head over the the bowl and started to shovel the sugar flakes into his mouth.

 

Prompto chuckled a bit while he grabbed an apple out the fridge. He took a big bite and looked over at his sleepy husband. “Don't you have a meeting or something at the Citadel today Noct?”

 

“Hmm?” He said, coming back to reality for the moment.

 

“Don't you have a meeting today?”

 

“That's not until Thursday.”

 

“Noct.”

 

“What?”

 

“Today is Thursday.”

 

“You gotta be kidding me!”

 

“Wish I was babe.” Prompto said, taking another bite of his apple.

 

So much for finishing his breakfast.

 

Noctis let out a loud groan as quickly sat up from the table to find his phone. He scrambled around the house for a moment, unable to remember where he tossed his phone the night before. He heard the quiet vibrating coming from the couch. He grabbed it from in between the couch cushions and tapped the screen to show 5 notifications from Ignis, all reminding him that meeting was this morning starting at 10 at the Citadel.

 

Noctis looked at the time and practicality yelled. It was 8:30  already and he hadn’t even brushed his teeth or factored in driving time. He sighed deeply and slammed his phone onto the table, causing Nikolas to jump and making the accompanying bowl of cereal to fall into the boy’s lap. Sugary milk and chunks of soggy corn flakes littered the boy’s lap and chest as well as the floor below. Some milk even got on Nik’s precious stuffed frog which was laying on the table next to him.The boy looked down at the mess and started to cry loudly.

 

“Papa!!! You made me spill!” he sobbed into his hands.

 

“Noooccctttt!” Prompto whined, grabbing a drying towel from the counter and heading over to calm the crying child.

 

“Ah...shit!” Noctis stumbles awkwardly towards the mess and tries to pick up the half melted cereal from the boy’s chest and lap. “My bad Nik. I wasn’t paying attention to how hard I hit the table.”

 

“You scared him Noct. He jumped.” Prompto pointed out as he wiped the milk from the toddler’s body.

 

“I said I’m sorry.” Noct snapped, taking the handful of mush to the trash can and dumping it in.

 

“I’m sticky daddy!” Nikolas cried out, unable to stop his tears. “And Mr. Froggy is dirty too!”

 

“I know. I know. I’ll give you a bath in just a second okay?” Noctis said with a heavy sigh, picking up the remaining flakes off the floor.

 

“Noctis you have to get to your meeting. It’s already late. I’ll do it.” Prompto said, soaking up most of the milk.

 

“You sure?” Noctis asked, looking up from the floor. “It will only take a minute for me to toss him in there.”

 

“I wouldn’t want you to be late to your meeting and have both Ignis and your dad down your throat.” the blond said, picking up the now sticky child and slinging him on his hip.

 

“Thanks Prom.” Noctis smiled and gave him a quick nod before tossing the cereal in the trash and running to their room. 

 

Nikolas leaned towards Prompto, whispering something in his dad’s ear before pulling away with a tint of red over his dark freckles.

 

“Yeah, I know it’s sticky in there. Your underwear are soaked with that gross sugar milk dude.” Prompto said, shifting him on his hip a little. “Let’s get you in the bath, my little sticky Chocobo butt.” he joked, patting the kids back and heading to the bathroom.

 

\---

 

“I am the king of bubble kingdom!” Nikolas yelled loudly from his mountain of bubbles that was erupting from the sides of the bathtub. He dipped back down into the mound of bubbles around him as Prompto walked in.

 

“King of what?” 

 

Prompto stopped right in his tracks as he saw the bathtub filled to the brim with bubbles. “What the hell Nikky!?” the older man asked as he looked at the mound of bubbles and the mess on the floor as well. He picked up a near empty bottle of bubble bath and sighed deeply. 

 

He left him alone for 5 minutes so he could mop up the rest of the mess in the kitchen and he managed to make an even bigger mess in the time being. It made him want to call Ignis and apologize for all the messes he and Noctis ever made him clean up.

 

The boy popped up from his bubble mountain. “Did the bubble king give you peer-mist-ion (permission) to speak?” he asked, running his fingers through his newly formed bubble beard.

 

Prompto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “The bubble king isn’t going to be in good graces with his daddy if he is a brat.”

 

“The bubble king is the ruler of this land. He doesn’t need a daddy to tell him what to do.” he announced, throwing a handful of bubbles in the air.

 

“That is not a nice thing to say, Nikolas.”

 

“Kings can’t always be nice.” he said plainly, putting more bubbles on his face to make his beard again.

 

“Nikolas Lucis Caelum...” Prompto said under his breath, trying to keep himself from getting a headache. At least he had an understanding of his “duty” unlike the royalty that lived in the house with him.

 

Noctis stepped into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, turning on the water to start brushing.

 

“Excuse me sir! No one is allowed in Bubble king’s castle without peer-mist-ion!” Nikky said, gripping the edge of the tub.

 

“And who’s this bubble king?” Noctis asked, squirting a bit of the paste onto his brush and shoving it in his mouth.

 

“I am bubble king and no one in here has ree-queest-ed (requested) an aw-dee-dance- (audience) in order to speak to me!” he said, replicating what he heard from his Grandpa Regis once. Noctis busted in a loud laugh.

 

“Okay, Mr. Bubble king.” he muttered with the brush still in his mouth, laughing a bit.

 

“Noct! Please don’t entertain him. It will only make it worse.” Prompto said under his breath.

 

“It’s funny Prompt. He tried to sound like my dad.” he said, going back to brush his teeth. “It’s kinda cute.” 

 

“It’s not funny. He is being a brat.” the blond said, stepping closer to Noct. “Do something! He will listen to you!”

 

Noctis groaned into his toothbrush.

 

“Please?”

 

“Fine.” he said, spitting out the toothpaste foam and rinsing his mouth out a bit. “May I request an audience then? I wish to speak to the bubble king right away.” Noctis said, sounding as formal as he could.

 

Nikky smiled and sat up straight in the tub. “Wish granted.”

 

“Thank you your highness.” he said, bowing a little. “It has come to my attention that you, bubble king, have made someone important awfully upset.” he said, nudging Prompto in order to get him to play along. The blond quickly got the hint and pretended to cry into his hands.

 

Nikolas started to frown.

 

“I think you should pay attention to your words, your majesty. You have hurt an ally of yours; another king from nearby. This king is much stronger than you and could easily take away your entire kingdom, including your toys and dessert for an entire week.”

 

Nikolas stiffened up and scooted forward in the tub. “Uhhh…”

 

“So, your majesty, if your wish to remain on your throne, I suggest you watch your words and pay your respects to people higher than yourself. That is all.” Noctis said with a smirk on his face. Nikolas jaw shut closed, unable to say anything. He slumped down into the bubble mess and pouted.

 

Prompto looked up and smiled, mouthing the words “thank you” before giving him a quick kiss.

 

Noctis left the bathroom to finish getting ready and Prompto managed to reach the mass of bubbles to find the washcloth and shampoo.

 

“Come on bubble king. Time to get you all cleaned up.” he said, squeezing a handful of shampoo into his hand and plopping it on the boy’s messy head.

 

It wasn’t long before Nikolas came running out of his room in an old t-shirt of Noctis and his arms full of coloring supplies, his hair still dripping wet from his bath. His little arms will filled to brim with crayons, markers, and papers; so much so that he could hardly see over the sea of art supplies.

 

He ran right into Noct, who was frantically searching for something in the house.

 

“Sorry Papa.” he said, holding his supplies tightly.

 

“It’s fine.” he muttered as he searched through the various drawers in the hallway.

 

The dark haired man was clad in his kingly raiment (minus the knee piece). His hair was styled to perfection and it even look liked he ironed his pants for once. But one thing was missing, the cape. 

 

Noctis was painfully aware that he almost never wore the outfit, seeing as it stayed in the back of his closet. The cape was the only exception, seeing as Nik liked to play superhero with it more often than not. Noctis never really thought about it too much seeing as Nik used it more than he ever did.

 

But, the one time he did need it, it was nowhere to be found. Not in Nikolas’ room, not in any of his hiding spots, and certainly not in the piles of laundry in the washing room.

 

“Prompto! Have you seen my cape?! I can’t find it anywhere!” he shouted, now heading to the living room to look under the couches.

 

“It has been a while since I have seen it. Nikky was using it for something. I can’t remember.” Prompto said, lounging on the couch, his hand deep in a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips.

 

“Well that was a ton of help Prom.” he groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “Can you at least remember where Nik was playing?” 

 

“Umm...his room I think? Ask him.” Prompto chimed, stuffing another chip into his mouth. “He would know more than me.” he said, mouth full of chip.

 

Noctis pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It was already 9:30. He needed to leave soon if he was going to make it to the meeting on time. He could already hear Ignis’ voice in the back of his head, chastising him for being late.

 

“Nikolas.” he said, looking over at this son, who was holding the signature green crayon and drawing another frog.

 

“Hmm?” he asked, not even looking up from his drawing.

 

“Where did you have my cape last?”

 

The child shrugged, filling in the lines with the green marker. “I don’t know.”

 

“Come on Nik. I am going to be late to my meeting.” he said in a half whine.”Can you try to remember?”

 

The kid put down his marker and thought for a long second before perking up. “My room! I had it in my room!” he said excitedly.

 

“Thanks bud!” he exclaimed as he headed to the boy’s room. Little did he know, the boy’s room was just as messy as his own room, littered with toys, clothes, and various art supplies. He wasn’t sure how he was going to find his cape in the mess.

 

He sighed deeply and proceeded to make his way through the room, digging through toys boxes and piles of rejected drawings. He was just happy there wasn’t any old candy wrappers or empty pudding cups scattered around.

 

He had searched the entire room and still was empty handed. There was one place he hadn’t checked just yet, underneath the bed. He had vivid memories of what used to be under his own bed, quietly praying that Ignis would clean it out every so often. He didn’t know what old food or slimy creature he would find, after all he was his mini-me. 

 

He laid down on the floor, slowing reaching his hand underneath the frame. He collided with a few loose papers and stuffed animals before he reached a familiar feeling fabric. He pulled the cloth towards him and smiled. He stood up and shook out the piece of fabric, holding it up.

 

“I found it! It was under Nikolas’ bed!” he shouted to the other in the living room. He came rushing out, trying to hook the cape on his back. Prompto stood up and walked over to the other man, grabbing the cape and helping him hook it on correctly. He went to press a kiss into the back of his neck when he smelled something...interesting.

 

“Hey, Noct.”

 

“Yeah?” he said, smoothing down the front of his shirt and looking into the mirror on the other wall.

 

“You smell like apples...just not like fresh apples. Like...apple juice or something like that.” Prompto said, not completely sure of himself.

 

“Apple juice?”

 

“Yeah. The sugary smell is hard to miss.” he pointed out as he looked down the cape and saw a strange looking spot on the back of the cape. He touched it. It wasn't wet but it definitely had a crunchy texture to it. Prompto looked over at the little boy, who was still looking down at his paper.

 

Nikolas was nervously drawing still, missing the line and messing up his drawing.

 

“Nikky...did you do something to papa’s cape?” Prompto asked, tilting his head a bit.

 

The kid shook his head frantically. “No. No. No.” he repeated.

 

Prompto raised his brows and moved towards the kid. “Nikolas, it’s not okay to lie.” 

 

“But...I didn’t…” he started, getting quiet toward the end of the word.

 

Noctis turned around and looked at Nikolas, crossing his arms over his chest.. “Nikolas Lucis Caelum. Tell the truth.” he said sternly.

 

“I didn’t mean it!” he shouted, looking up at the two with tears in his eyes. “I...I didn’t know it was papa’s cape! I-I spilled my juice on the floor and I didn’t want you to yell at me so I tried to clean it up. I thought papa’s cape was a towel but it...I hid it under my bed so no one could find it. I didn’t know Papa had to wear it!” he rambled, the tears starting to freely flow. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

 

Noctis sighed deeply and shook his head with a little chuckle. “You were right Prom. His crying face  _ could _ help him get away with murder. I can’t even be mad at him while he crying like that.”

 

“You don’t have time to get mad at him Noct! It's 9:45. You are already late! You need to leave now!” Prompto said, running to grab the car keys from their room. He handed the keys to Noctis and gave him a quick kiss. “Now go!” he said with a big smile on his face.

 

Noctis grabbed the keys and gave Prompto another lingering kiss before running out the door.

 

Nikolas wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at Prompto with a little pout. “Am I in trouble Daddy?” he asked quietly.

 

Prompto chuckled lightly and ruffled the boy’s dark hair. “We will talk about it when your Papa gets home. For now, finish up that frog. The fridge needs another drawing.” he said.

 

\---

 

Just as Noct imagined, the meeting had already started without him. He could hear the men mumbling from behind the door. He sighed deeply and quietly opened the door to the room. The men stopped what they were doing, looking right at him. Noctis nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he made his way to the empty seat next to Ignis.

 

“Nice of you to join us Noctis.” Regis said, straightening up in his seat. “We just started. You didn’t miss much. Ignis will catch you up.” 

 

Ignis nodded obediently, pushing his meeting notes over to the young man, pushing his glasses up to his face. Noctis looked over the notes at the other men continued to talk. He still wasn’t used to these things just yet but Regis was slowing prepping him to take the throne from him soon. So, he was coming to more and more meetings lately.

“Noct...you...smell like some sort of fruit juice.” Ignis pointed out, furrowing his brows a bit.

 

“It’s a long story okay.” he huffed.

 

“Is that the reason why you were late today? Even after I sent to multiple messages this morning?” he said, quietly, trying to listen to the men speaking around him.

 

“Something like that.” Noctis replied, still looking over the notes. “A lot happened this morn-”

 

“Noctis. Ignis. Do you have something to share?” Regis said with a knowing smile. Ignis immediately lowered his head.

 

“I apologize your majesty. I was asking Noctis about his morning, trying to figure out how he ended up being late. I wanted to make sure I did not need to go start picking him up again to make sure he gets here on time.” Ignis said, his gaze still fixed on the table.

 

“There is no need Ignis. He is a grown man. I am sure he has a reason to why he was late this morning.” Regis commented, folding his hands on the table in front of him, as if he was asking Noctis to explain himself.

 

“Uhh..” Noctis stammered, running his fingers through his hair again. “Well...I kinda forgot today was Thursday. Prompto reminded me and I went to get ready when I accidentally scared Nikolas and made him spill his breakfast all over him. He was crying and screaming. It was a mess.” he started, “Then the kid emptied and entire bottle of soap into the bathroom and made a huge mass of bubbles and proclaimed himself as the bubble king.”

 

Ignis coughed to cover up his laugh. Noctis gave him a quick side eye.

 

“So I had to shut that down because he was being rude to Prompto. Then I couldn't find my cape and that took a huge chunk of time before I found it under Nik’s bed covered in old apple juice. But it was too late to do anything so here I am with an apple juice covered cape so I wasn’t super late.” Noctis explained, sighing deeply by the end.

 

The other members of the counsel were laughing by the end of the story, unable to stay so stoic across the table, Regis was letting out a hearty chuckle.

 

“Goodness. That boy gets more and more like you every day.” he said, still chuckling. “I am sure Prompto has his hands quite full with the both of you under one roof.”

 

Noctis let out a sigh of relief and let a gentle smile cross his lips. “Yeah.”

  
  
  


Bonus:

 

Nikolas was back in the bathtub, the mountain of bubble surrounding him once more. “I am bubble king-”

 

“Bubble  _ prince _ .” Noctis corrected, sitting the the bathtub next to him, bubbles coating his wet hair. “I am the bubble king. You are  _ my _ son, thus you are the prince of bubble kingdom.” 

 

“Papaaaa!” he whined, pushing a mound of bubbles into Noctis’ face.

 

“What? It’s the truth Nik.”

 

“Then that means Grandpa is the  _ real _ bubble king. So you are a bubble prince too!”

 

“Grandpa has all of Lucis to run, he has no time to be bubble king. So I will take his position.” Noctis pointed out, fixing his knees so they wouldn’t bang against the edge of the bathtub again.

 

“Wish you were that passionate about being the king of what you were supposed to be.” Prompto said, walking into the room with a big smile and snapping a quick picture of the Lucis Caelum duo in the tub.

 

“Prom…” Noctis grumbled.

 

“I’m kidding I’m kidding. Relax dude. I didn’t come to ruin that father-son bonding time. Just came to tell you dinner will be done when you get out.”

 

“You mean the pizza will be here.” Noctis corrected.

 

Prompto pouted, “and wings.” 

 

“Thanks, Prom.” he said with a gentle smile. 

 

“Yeah! Thanks, daddy! And thanks for washing Mr.Froggy! He doesn’t smell like old milk anymore!”

 

“No prob. You two enjoy yourselves. Holler if ya need me!” he said, leaving the room with a wave. Nikolas had a devious little smirk on his face as he splashed Noctis with the little bit of water underneath the bubble mountain.

 

“Hey! No splashing in here! I don’t want to have to clean up the floor after that!” Noctis said with a laugh. Nikolas was laughing loudly, looking at his dad muss of hair, one that resembled his. Noct grabbed the boy and hugged him to his chest.

“Come on bubble prince. Let’s get cleaned up so we can get some pizza.” he said, giving him a gentle kiss on his bubbled cheek.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nikolas loves frogs so much. The fridge is covered in his numerous frog drawings. He takes Mr. Froggy everywhere. He dreams about frogs. My little sweet sleepy frog prince.
> 
> Noctis is the dorky dad that loves to play with his kid (when he is not sleeping or napping). Kinda reminds me of my own dad lol.
> 
> Also, I headcanon that Noctis and Prompto aren't really good at cooking so easy meals and take out are a necessity in their household.
> 
>  
> 
> If someone were to draw Nik and Noct in the bathtub a bubble king and prince, I would be forever in your debt and probably cry.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! I don't bite and my chat and ask box are always open!
> 
> http://mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears.tumblr.com


	4. Just the Three of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis has to go back to the citadel to work and leaves Gladio alone with the twins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Gladio's birthday, here is a chapter with Gladio's being a proud pop. This chapter was inspired by a story my dad was telling me and my sister about how we acted when we were little. 
> 
> Thank you for all the support and comments and kudos and wonderful fanart! I love it all and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I love you all! I will continue to try and make you all happy!
> 
> Also, I have an idea to throw at you guys. I have so many randomish ideas for this series that really couldn't be entire chapter and I was going to make a bunch of like 500ish word drabbles about the daily life of the Chocobros and their kids. There would be no linear timeline in the drabbles. One chapter could be with the kids being 13 years old and the next one could be them as infants again. It would just be whatever I come up with at the time. That one could be updated more frequently and I could also take requests as well. Let me know if you guys are interested in something like that.
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry about the long intro! I hope you guys enjoy!

Ignis did one last check in the mirror, running his fingers through the front of his hair to push some of the loose hairs back.

 

“Are you sure you are going to be okay with both of them by yourself? I can always call Noct or Prompto over for help.” Ignis asked, turning to face the large man slumped over the couch. Both girls were next to him; Malena trying to stand up and grab his arm while Nevaeh curled up in his side.

 

“Go to work. Don't worry about us. We will see you tonight.” He said, putting a firm hand behind Malena’s back to make sure she didn't fall off the couch. “Never thought  _ you _ would be freaking about going back to work.”

 

“Well it's my first full day back. I haven't done an entire day at the Citadel since they were born.’ Ignis admitted, fixing his tie on his neck. 

 

“But you still have gone to meetings and stuff. It's not different than before. You'll be back to being a workaholic in no time.” He joked.

 

Ignis rolled his eyes and grabbed the car keys from the table. “Feel free to call me if anything happens. If I don't answer right away, I'm in a meeting and I'll call you back once it has concluded.”

 

“Roger that.” Gladio said, using his free hand to grab a slumped over Nevaeh and rest her on her side.

 

Ignis walked over to Malena and gave her a quick kiss. “Behave while I am at work, okay?” 

 

Malena cooed loudly, going back to trying to stand up. Ignis got down and pressed a soft kiss to Nevaeh's sleeping cheek before running his fingers through her hair. He stood up and fixed his suit jacket with a deep sigh. 

 

“What? Pop doesn't get a goodbye kiss?” 

 

Ignis chuckled and leaned over toward his husband, softly pressing their lips together. 

 

“Have a good day at work Iggy and relax okay. Everything will be fine.” Gladio whispered against his lips.

 

“I’ll do my best. I did not think it would be this hard to leave them for a single day.” He said quietly.

 

“Well I can admit, it's hard to leave these cuties behind. Remember when I had to do that training  for some of the new crownsguard? Those 3 days were horrible. Didn't think I could miss them waking me up in the middle of the night or drooling on me but I did. I missed them a lot. So, I can't blame you but alas our duty is just as important as they are. So go to work. We will be right here when you come home.”

 

Ignis nodded, standing up straight and dusting off his coat. It hurt him a little to leave his girls behind for the day, but he just kept thinking about the end of the day when he could come home and relax with his family.

 

He waved a little as he headed out the door, closing it softly behind him. Gladio let out a deep sigh of relief, keeping his eye on Malena, who was using him as a human jungle gym. 

 

He grunted as she put her little feet into his side to grab hold of his bicep. “I'm going to have to change your nickname to monkey pretty soon here Mal.” He groaned as he felt her feet in his side again.

 

Nevaeh squirmed in her sleep, indicating she was going to wake up soon. She let out a soft whine and her hands moved up to cover her eyes. As Gladio tried to comfort the girl until she fell back asleep but Malena had other ideas that involved her climbing over his side. 

 

“Chill Mal. I gotta get your sister before she starts fussin’.” he said, gently peeling the girl from his arm to sit her down on the floor in front of him. He would have set her back on the couch but It wouldn’t be nice she decided to try and stand up on her own and end up falling off the couch. He would never hear the end of it.

 

He reached to his side and grabbed the still sleeping child and laid her on his broad chest. He kept a firm hand on her back, rubbing small circles to keep her asleep. He pressed his lips against the top of her head before looking in front of him to check on the adventurous twin.

 

Malena was not there in front of him. His heart raced a bit as his eyes darted around the room. He didn’t see her. Gladio held Nevaeh tightly as he stood up and turned around to look behind the couch.

 

“Malena!” he called out. “Malena Marie Amicitia!” he called again, walking around the couch and peeking around the wall to the kitchen. He took a quick look around, spotting her by the table, trying to climb up the chair. Gladio ran over and grabbed her with his free hand quickly before she got any further.

 

“What the hell Malena.” he muttered under his breath as he made sure she was on his hip tightly. “You are going to drive me up a wall little girl. You earned some time in the playpen until you relax a bit.”

 

Malena started crying loudly now that Gladio had stopped her from exploring her environment further. She tried to free herself from his grip as she cried, pushing hard against his arms. Malena’s loud cries causes Nevaeh to wake up from her nap early, making her whine quietly against his chest. 

 

Gladio let out a deep sigh and headed back to the living room and set both girls down for a just a moment so he could open up the play pen. Within a few minutes, he had Malena inside the playpen and Nevaeh back on his chest as she tried to fall back asleep. Malena continued to cry, almost screaming at this point as she wasn’t too fond of her mesh prison she was stuck in for the time being.

 

“Sorry Malena. You can come out when you mellowed out a bit,” he said as he grabbed the remote to the tv and clicked it on. He surfed through the channels aimlessly, unable to find something interesting to watch this early in the day. He was still scrolling when he landed on a children's channel and Malena cries quieted down.

 

She managed to pull herself to stand up at the edge of the playpen so she could see over the top. She was glued to the colorful images and songs on the television, bouncing happily with the music. Gladio sighed in relief. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to handle much more of her screaming.

 

With the way Malena was glued to the tv, he knew she wasn't going to let him change the channel anytime soon. So he might as well try to enjoy it a little.

 

Gladio slumped a little into the couch cushions and got comfortable, hoping his movement would disrupt the sleeping twin on his chest. He found himself watching the show along with his daughter, humming quietly to the songs or answering one of the million questions the show asked.

 

He wasn't sure how much time had passed after a while. He had already memorized the theme song so it had to at least been a few hours. Nevaeh had woken up and watched quietly from her father’s lap while Malena opted to sit down and watch from the mesh walls of her play pen.

 

Gladious stood up and put Nevaeh on the floor so he could free Malena from her time out. He grabbed the other twin and set her down next to her sister. Their eyes stayed glued to the tv as Gladio gave himself a good stretch. “Your daddy is gunna kill me when he finds out how much tv I let you two watch today.” He said, pulling his arm across his chest in a tight stretch.

 

He heard his stomach growl loudly as he finished the deep stretch. It was 2:30 already, meaning it was lunch time for him and the girls. He saw the girls still had their eyes on the tv so he took the opportunity to peek in the fridge. 

 

He scanned through the various food items in the fridge, taking note of a bowl of spaghetti Ignis made for dinner tonight. Nothing really called out to him. He wasn't really in the mood to put anything together and he ran out of cup noodles a few days ago. He sighed deeply and closed the fridge in front of him. 

 

That's when it hit him. He could go get a sandwich. There was a deli he liked to go to that was about a block and half away. He had been going there since he was in high school and they had some of the best roast beef in town (next to Ignis’). He figured the girls could use a little outside time today. So a walk to the deli it was gonna be.

 

He walked back over to the mesmerized twins and picked them both up. “Come on munchkins. We are taking a walk.” He said, walking with them to their room.

 

He didn't mind that the girls were still in their sleeping onesies but he knew if Ignis caught wind that he didn't dress them before going out, he would get an earful and a half.

He grabbed two matching rompers out the drawer and slipped the outfit on them quickly. Within 10 minutes, he had both girls dressed, himself dressed, and both girls strapped into the large double stroller. 

 

“Ready girls?” He asked, looking over the top at the twins. The were too busy sticking that hands in the cup holders and fumbling their seatbelts in order to answer him. “I'll take that as a yes.”

 

He grabbed the house keys and shoved them into his back pocket before heading out the door.

 

\---

 

With a grunt, Gladio pushed the stroller into the deli and parked it in the back, pulling both girls out and holding them in each arm. The place still looked the same even after all these years. There was the large counter on the side and various tiny aisles filled with chips, drinks, and candy. 

 

“Gladio my boy! Is that you? It's been ages son.” An old man called from behind the counter.

 

“In the flesh. Nice to see you still in here Malekai. Thought your sons were trying to take the shop off your hands.” Gladio said with a big grin as he approached the counter.

 

“Oh they can't run me out that easily. I have let a little of the paperwork fall to them though. But there's no way I won't be in here,” Malekai said. He took note of the two small children in his muscular arms. “Are these your little girls?”

 

Gladio’s smile reached from ear to ear. “Yup. My 7 month old twin baby girls.” He announced. “This is Malena” he said, bouncing Malena up. “And this is Nevaeh.” He said, bouncing Nevaeh up as well. 

 

“Goodness they look just like you Gladiolus. Minus that blond hair of theirs.” he said, coming from behind the counter to greet the larger man. 

 

Malekai held his arms out, quietly asking if he could hold on of the twins. Gladio shifted Nevaeh into his arms since she was leagues better with strangers than her sister. Nevaeh was perfectly okay with Malekai, lying against him after he grabbed her.

 

“Yeah. Iggy was upset that he carried them for 9 months and went through intense labor just for them to both look just like me. But I think they are growing to look like him now.”

 

“Ah, so you are still with Ignis. Good to hear. I still remember you moping around when he said no to that elaborate first date you had planned.” the older man said, poking the girl’s nose to make her giggle.

 

“How do remember that! That was so long ago Malekai. I think I was a maybe sophomore or a junior in high school.” Gladio said, his cheeks heating up a it.

 

“I remember because nearly cleaned out my roast supply that day. You always were an emotional eater.”

 

Gladio feigned coughed a bit, using his now free hand to cover his red cheeks. “I wanted to get a Behemoth...extra roast beef. Just like the old days.”

 

“Just one? I clearly remember the last time you came you took down two without even so much as a hitch in your breath and asked for a third to go.”

 

“I was training hard those days. Now that the girls are around, I spend more time at home then training. Can't go getting soft now. I still have a liege and his son to protect and one of these girls to train to take my spot when they come of age.”

 

“Gladio, I don't think you could ever go soft. I'll send you home with some roast beef in cause you want more when you get home. Maybe you'll come visit me more often.” The man hassled, handing Nevaeh back to Gladio. 

 

“I know I know. I'll try and come by more often.” He said, hitching the girl on his hip. The man chuckled and headed back behind the counter to make Gladio's sandwich.

 

“You better. And bring those adorable kids of yours with you.” He said, focusing on piling the meat on the bread. 

 

“Yes sir.” He joked before giving each girl a kiss on the cheek. Malena giggled, grabbing her Pop's face between her tiny hands and kissing his nose a few times with a smile. Gladio let out a hearty laugh before leaning forward to kiss her nose again. He heard Nevaeh whine in his ear, probably feeling a little jealous of all the attention her sister was getting.

 

“I didn't forget about you love bug.” He said, turning his head to the other twin and peppering her face with little kisses as well, making her giggle uncontrollably.

 

Malekai chuckled softly at the display of affection in front of him. “Haven't seen you smile that big in a long while. It nice to see a father love his children so much.” He said as he finished up the massive sandwich and wrapped it up in paper. He put a healthy amount of sliced roast beef into a bag and shoved it in the bag with the sandwich. He set the heavy bag on the top of the counter with a smile.

 

“Thank you,” Gladio said, setting Nevaeh on top of the counter for a second so he could pull out the money owed. “Keep the change,” he said, grabbing the girl off the counter and using carefully wedging the bag in between the girl and his finger tips. He walked to the parked stroller in the back and put both girls back into the seats and strapped them in. He set the sandwich bag on the tray in front of the handles and started to maneuver the stroller through the small shop. 

 

“Bye Malekai! I promise I’ll stop by more often.” he said, waving a bit.

 

“You better. No one likes my roast beef like you do Gladio.” Malekai said, wiping his hands on the towel over his shoulder.

 

Gladio smiled and waved a bit before heaving the stroller out the door and back towards the house.

 

\----

 

Gladio was taking a huge bite out of his sandwich when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled the phone out his pocket and peeked at the screen. It was Ignis of course. He swiped his thumb across the screen and pressed his phone to his ear.

 

“Hello?” Gladio said, swallowing the last chunk of his bite.

 

“How is everything? Are the girls okay?” Ignis asked right away.

 

“Well good afternoon to you too Iggy.” he said.

 

He could practically see Ignis rolling his eyes. “Good afternoon Gladiolus. Now, how is everything?”

 

“It’s fine. Get your panties out of a bunch Ig.” Gladio said, sitting back in the chair a bit. Ignis scoffed loudly.

 

“There is nothing wrong with being concerned.” 

 

“Means you don’t trust me alone with my own kids.”

 

“You know as well as I do that that is not true Gladio.” Ignis snapped. “I told you earlier how I felt leaving them at home. Don’t you dare throw this back at me.”

 

“I’m not. I am telling you to relax. I can practically feel your tense shoulders from here. Everything is fine. We are eating lunch. Malena is painting a masterpiece with her food again and Nevaeh decided to join in on the fun. Needless to say, they are getting a bath after this.” Gladio explained, looking over to the cooing children in their highchairs.

 

“Sounds like a mess. What are they eating?”

 

“Ummm….” he said, standing up and walking over to counter to look at the empty jars. “Apples and Butternut squash.”

 

“Must be an interesting smell. You could have made something much more palatable in the blender.”

 

“I wasn’t thinking about it. I’ve gotten used to the smell so it’s fine. They seem to be enjoying it.” Gladio said, watching the girls lick the mess off their fingers. Gladio heard a soft voice from the other side.

 

“I have to go now. I’ll see you when I get home.” 

 

“Got it. I love you Iggy.”

 

“I love you too. Goodbye.” 

 

And with the that, Ignis hung up. Gladio tossed his phone back into the table and took another bite of the meat packed sandwich.

 

“Don’t get comfy you two. Bath time is comin’.” he said, his mouth full of sandwich.

 

The girls thoroughly ignored him as the continued eating the food off the tray. 

 

Gladio let them “eat” for a while longer while he went over to the empty sink and readied it for their baths. He rinsed it out and filled both sides of the sink with warm water and soap. He peeled the tank top from his chest and tossed it off to the side, not wanting to get it soaking wet from bathtime.

 

“Let’s get you two cleaned up.” he said, taking Malena out her highchair first and getting her in the makeshift bath first then doing the same for Malena.

 

The girls splashed around, giggling and cooing loudly at the amount of bubbles they were sitting in. Gladio did his best to wash them up as they played but it ended up getting him more wet that he would have liked. Gladio started to try and wash Malena’s hair, which was quickly turning into a screaming fest. Malena was crying and fighting with him as he washed, which sent Nevaeh into a fit of tears as well. The cries echoed through the kitchen, making Gladio let out a deep sigh.

 

“How did you daddy handle you two alone for three days?” he muttered to himself as he scooped some water onto the screaming girl’s hair to wash the soap out.

 

He managed to get Malena to sit still long enough to rise the remaining soap from her hair. He handed the girl a nearby toy to keep her quiet and busy while he washed Nevaeh’s hair. The other twin cooperated, only letting out a soft whine when the water was being poured onto her head. 

 

It took a moment to get both girls in a clean diaper before they squirmed away to play. He didn't bother putting any clothes on the twins. He didn’t mind the girls wanting to play around in their diapers, it was less work he had to do.

 

He set out a variety of toys out on the floor om front of him for them to play with before turning on the tv to the children’s channel again. He picked up his book from the side table and propped his feet up on the couch, opening it up to his carefully placed bookmark and diving in. The girls played loudly with all their toys with Gladio making quick glances to watch them.

 

\----

 

Ignis was later coming home than usual. It took him a lot longer to get back to doing so much paperwork and he refused to let himself take work home like he used to. He couldn't let his work consume him like it used to.  He carefully stepped into the house, listening out for any noise. All he could hear was the soft sounds of a children’s song, probably coming from the television.

 

“Gladio, I am home.” he called out, not too loudly in case the girls had just been put to sleep. He set his keys and bag down by the entryway table before making his way into the kitchen first.

 

The kitchen was thoroughly debouched, with dishes littering the counter as well as wrappers and other trash. Ignis looked around and sighed deeply, gathering up the various dishes and tossing them in the sink. He saw the blender was left unclean and filled with some red looking paste, with a smell that made Ignis furrow his brows a bit. It smelled like spaghetti and something else he couldn’t put his finger on. Ignis didn’t want to think of what Gladio had his children ingest. He tossed the blender into the sink as well.

 

He noticed the girl’s bath soap sitting on the edge of the sink as well. Ignis grabbed the bridge of his nose, trying to fend of the impending headache. “We bought special bathtubs so we wouldn't  _ have _ to use the kitchen sink.” he mumbled to himself as he finished putting the last few dishes in the sink.

 

He shrugged out his jacket and draped it over one of the chairs. “Gladio?” he called out, slightly louder than before. Ignis figured he wasn’t answering him due to the fact that he had his attention on one of the new books that he had bought.

 

He made his way to the living room to look for his husband. “Glad-” he said, before looking down at the floor. There, buried amongst the massive amount of toys and books on the floor was a sleeping Gladio and his sleeping girls. 

 

Gladio was laying on his stomach, using the crook of one arm as a pillow and the other arm draped carefully around Nevaeh, who was snuggling into his side. Malena was up on Gladio’s shirtless back, sprawled out as she slept. Both girls were still in just their diapers which seemed to have that same red paste from the blender on him.

 

Ignis felt his lips curl up into a smile and sighed happily. “I’m glad you had a good day.” he said softly before taking off his driving gloves and laying down to join in cuddle puddle before him.

 

Bonus:

 

Ignis was washing the mound of dishes in the sink the from the night before. Both girls were put down for a nap in their play pen in the living room and Gladio was knee deep in his book at the kitchen table.

 

“Why would you give them a bath in the sink when we bought bathtubs specifically so we would not have to use the sink?” Ignis asked, looking over at the other man.

 

He shrugged, still reading his book. “I would leave Malena alone for five seconds and she would try to climb up on everything in the house. It was much easier for me to just do it there. Plus, I was too lazy to get the bathtubs.” he said, flipping the page.

 

“That would explain the mess in my blender.” Ignis added, rising off a bowl and setting it on a towel to dry.

 

“Hey, you told me to make something better than the jar food so I did.”

 

“What was in that goo by the way? It smelled vile.” he asked.

 

“That spaghetti from the fridge and something else. I can’t remember. I was arguing with Noct over the phone and wasn’t paying attention to what I was putting in the thing.” he admitted, flipping the page again. “The girls liked it so it was fine. Don’t be such a stickler Iggy. They are babies. Let them do what babies do, which is eat weird shit, take baths in the kitchen sink, and not wear clothes.” He said, finally looking up from the book.

 

Ignis sighed deeply and gently pressed his glasses up on his nose. “I guess you are right. I have been a little bit of a helicopter parent.” he said.

 

“A little?” Gladio asked, his brow arching up. Ignis felt his cheeks heat up a bit and he quickly turned his head.

 

“Okay. It's a considerable amount.” he admitted, going back to furiously washing the dishes. “I will have loosen my grip on them since I will be working again. They will be with you or somebody else more often now.” 

 

Gladio put the book down in front of him and walked over to Ignis, putting his arms around his waist. He pressed a gentle kiss into his cheek. “Just relax. It will be just fine. We are pretty good parents Iggy. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” he said, kissing him again.

 

Ignis nodded and turned around to face Gladio, pulling him into a lingering kiss.

 

But it didn’t last very long as the loud sound of cries echoed through the house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Children sleeping on their parents' backs are the cutest thing in the world!
> 
> If someone were to draw the Gladio and girls cuddle puddle or Ignis with the girls, I would probably lose my mind, scream, then cry in that order. Sorry for being Gladnis trash y'all..
> 
> Thank you all for the support!! Hits, comments, kudos, and other support are always appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! Send me some prompts for future chapters and stuff!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. A Day at the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikolas wants to see the frogs at the pond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness guys! I have gotten so much wonderful feedback for this work and I couldn't be any happier! Thank all of you for reading this and indulging in my love for writing adorable children. I seriously cant thank you guys enough for your ongoing support! I am going to do my best to keep you all happy!
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter was sooooo much fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!
> 
> I am posting this quickly before I leave for work so excuse my grammatical errors and typos.

“Daddy! Daaaadddyyy! Daddy Daddy Daddy!” Nikolas whined loudly, pulling on the hem of Prompto’s shirt. “Daddy!”

 

“Yes? Yes yes yes?” he asked, mimicking the way the kid was whining just a moment ago. Nikolas didn’t find it funny and puffed his cheeks out in anger. Prompto let out a soft laugh before pulling the small boy into his lap. “Yes my darling son? Is that better?”

 

Nikolas let the air out of his cheeks and rested his head against Prompto’s chest. “When’s Papa coming home? It’s been like…a million years.” he asked quietly.

 

“A million is pretty steep buddy. Maybe like 100 years.” he joked, running his fingers through the child’s messy dark hair. “But he should be home soon. He had a meeting today.”

 

“When he comes home, can we go to see the froggies again daddy?  _ Please _ ?” Nik asked, keeping his face buried in Prompto's chest.

 

Prompto smiled softly and ruffled the boy’s hair softly. “Sure buddy.”

 

“Yay!!!” he cheered, jumping off of Prompto’s lap. “I am going to find my hat!” he said excitedly as he ran back towards his room. Prompto let out a happy sigh before pulling his phone out and dialing Noct’s number.

 

It rang a few times before the familiar voice answered.

 

“Yeah Prom?” Noctis asked.

 

“How much longer ‘till you get home? Nikky just asked if we could go and see frogs.” 

 

“That kid and his love for frogs scares me sometimes.” Noctis muttered. “Sounds fine though. Its a nice day.”

 

“Figured that we could go to that fishing spot you like. There is a nice park over there and I think there are some frogs.” Prompto explained, slumping on the couch once more.

 

“Oh...sounds good.l should be out pretty soon. We just finished. I just need to talk to my dad for a second and I’ll be on my way home.” 

 

“Okay. He already went running into his room to go find his hat. Won't be surprised if Mr. Froggy joins us either.”

 

“I’m just glad you washed the thing. He takes it everywhere and it was starting to show just that.” he mentioned.

 

“I’ll have to wash him again after today. He is going to drop that thing in some mud or something else gross. Glad we bought the good laundry detergent this time around. Totally worth the extra gil.”

 

Noctis laughed softly. “Well, I gotta go Prompt. My dad is waiting for me. See you in a little bit. Kay?”

 

“Okay. See when you get home. Bye.”

 

“Love you, Prom. Bye.” 

 

Prompto felt a hint of blush on his cheeks as he hung up. Even though they had been together for years, Noctis still managed to make him blush like a schoolgirl. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood up. He needed to go get his camera ready, seeing as he knew it was going to be an interesting day at the park.

 

\----

 

“Papa! Hurrrryyyyy!” Nikolas called, hugging his stuffed frog against his chest as he waited in front of the door. “The froggies will be in bed when we get there if you don’t huuurrryyy.” he whined.

 

“Give him a sec Nikky. He did just get home.” he said to the child, fixing the little hat on his head. The hat matched the one Noctis had; black with a brownish rim. “He didn’t get as much time as we did to get ready.”

 

Nikolas huffed loudly, burying his face into the top of his stuffed animal. “I just want to see the froggies…” he muttered into the animal.

 

“And we are going to see the froggies. Just relax okay?” Prompto laughed and picked the boy up with a groan. “You are getting pretty heavy buddy! Pretty soon, I won’t be able to pick you anymore.” he said, shifting him to sit on his hip more comfortably.

 

Noctis came out of his room, stripped off his meeting attire and into his casual outfit. He dusted off the white shirt and fixed the hat on his head before leaning in to kiss Nikolas’ cheek. “Ready to go bud?”

 

Nikolas nodded furiously, squirming out of Prompto’s arms and running to the car.

 

\----

 

The weather was nice at the fishing hole when the family got there. Nikolas could hardly contain himself as they were getting ready to get out. Once Noctis’ unbuckled him from his carseat, he practically bolted out the car towards the the water. Noctis lowered his head and chuckled a bit before grabbing Mr.Froggy out the seat next to the car seat and shutting the door in front of him.

 

“Told you he was excited.” Prompto said as he hung his camera around his neck. 

 

“Excited is an understatement.” Noct said as he laced his fingers with Prompto's. They headed toward the water to make sure their son didn’t fall in in his excitement. Both men walked over to the pier, keeping a close eye on the excited child.

 

“Look Papa! Look Daddy! Froggies!” the toddler yelled. The child was on the pier on his hands and knees as he looked into the water below. He stuck his hand in the water as an attempt to a swimming frog he saw.

 

“Nikky!” Prompto whined, thinking about how dirty the pond water was. 

 

“Be careful Nik. That water isnt clean and there are fish in there too. Some of them bite.” Noctis said, unlacing his fingers and placing the hand on Prompto’s hip. “There is tadpoles in there too and I don't think you would want to hurt them.”

 

The boy looked up in a bit of confusion. “What’s a tada-pole?”

 

“ _ Tadpole _ . It’s a baby frog. They look like tiny fishes when they hatch.” Noctis said.

 

“Baby frogs?!” he said, before sticking his face over the pier and towards the water. Prompto quickly reached out and grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt so he wouldn’t fall in. 

 

“There are baby frogs in here Papa?!”

 

“Probably. There a lot of frogs here meaning there probably quite a few babies roaming around. But don’t go messing with them. Just watch them.They don’t want to be disturbed by a excited 4 year old.” Noctis said as he held out the stuffed animal. 

 

Nikolas sat up and grabbed the stuffed animal from his Papa’s hands and sat down on his bottom. “So...just watch them? Like a TV?”

 

“Yup. Just watch. No touching.” Noctis said as he stepped out towards the end of the pier and conjured up his fishing pole. Nikolas’ shoulders dropped a little as he set Mr.Froggy into his lap and watched quietly. Prompto took out his camera and started snapping quick pictures of his pouty son.

 

“Looks like both the sleeping prince and the frog prince have the same pout when they don’t get their way. That Lucis Caelum blood is pretty darn potent.” Prompto joked as he snapped an up close picture of Nikolas’ face. Noctis scoffed loud enough for his husband to hear before casting out his line.

 

Nikolas kept his eyes fixed on the water below him as he watched for more frogs. Each time he saw one in the foliage nearby, his eyes would light up. Prompto smiled softly at the boy, moving to sit next to him. Nikolas noticed his dad’s presence and instinctively moved to sit in his lap. Prompto wrapped his arm around Nik and rested his chin gently on his head, running his hands up and down his little arms.

 

“Look Daddy! Those froggies look like they like each other. You think they are gunna get married?” Nikolas asked, his eyes still fixed on the pair of frogs.

 

“Frogs aren't the type to get married. It’s more of a human thing to get married.” He explained, still running his hands over his arms.

 

“Well, I hope they get married and they are happy, just like you and Papa.” The child said quietly.

 

Prompto let out a sigh of happiness for a moment. Nikolas was still an infant when Noct and Prompto finally got married.  He doubted he remembered anything about it but he saw the wedding pictures in the house everyday. He saw the love they had for each other and for him.

 

In every picture, it was extremely clear. The love was overflowing, the smiles were large, and the happy tears were flowing. It was easy to see how in love they were from those pictures. He was happy to find out that Nikolas saw, felt, and understood the love they had.

 

“Yeah...just like me and papa.” He mumbled into the boy's head as he watched the frogs as well.

 

The sweet moment quickly deteriorated as Noct’s line broke on a big catch and he let out colorful array of curse words. Prompto quickly covered the boy's ears. Nik already was catching on to Noctis’ bad word habit already.

 

“Are you done raging?” Prompto asked.

 

Noctis groaned and nodded, refilling the line. “Yeah...damn thing took my favorite lure.” He grumbled. Prompto uncovered Nikolas’ ears and looked over.

 

“Should have done that earlier. I told you the line was close to snapping last time you fished.”

 

“Talk about backseat fishing Prom.” He snapped. Prompto let out a hearty laugh and leaned back on his hands.

 

“Shhhhhh! You are going to scare them away!” Nikolas said, scolding Prompto. His angry face was too cute to take seriously though. The man quickly snapped a close up photo of the angry kid before smiling.

 

“Sorry. I'll keep quiet.” He said, leaning back on his hands again as they watched the various marine life swim by.

 

\---

“Paapppaaa are you done fishing? I’m hungryyyyy.” Nikolas whined from Prompto’s lap.

 

They had been at the park for hours now. The sun was starting to set and various bugs were starting to settle in around the water. Nikolas had gotten his fill of frogs for the day a while ago but Prompto insisted they wait to go home so Noct could have a little more time fishing. 

 

Nikolas had already taken a nap, ran around in the grass, and played tag with Prompto. He was out of activities and it didn’t help that they poor boy had eaten all the snacks Prompto packed for the day.

 

Noctis didn’t answer as he was too focused on a large fish he saw in the corner of the lake. He cast his line and waited patiently.

 

“He’s almost done. I promise. Then we can go to that one place downtown with those really good chicken nuggets.” Prompto said, placing a soft kiss on top of the boy's head. 

 

“Fine…” the toddler huffed, standing up from Prompto’s lap and walking next to Noct. He stood there quietly, holding Mr. Froggy tightly to his chest. He watched the water for a moment before looking up at Noct.

 

“This is fun?” he asked.

 

Noct nodded as he reeled the line in a little, drawing the fish in a little. “Lots of fun. I’ll take you fishing when you are older, then you’ll see.” he said, watching the fish close in on the lure.

 

Nikolas pursed his tiny lips and shook his head. “No thank you.” he said politely. 

 

Prompto chuckled a bit, taking a picture of the two princes on the dock before strolling over towards the other side of the park for some good sunset pictures.

 

Noct moved the line just a little bit and the fish finally bit. He smiled brightly and started to reel in fast. “Gotcha!” he yelled, turning the rod towards the fish and reeling in quickly. “Oh yeah! It’s a big one!” he called out, turning the rod yet again and easing in on the reeling. It seemed simple enough, that is, until the fish jumped out the water, revealing how large it really was.

 

Nikolas was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, causing him to jump a little and drop his precious stuffed frog into the water below. He screamed loudly and pulled on Noct’s shirt frantically.

 

“PAPA!! MR. FROGGY IS IN THE WATER! PAPA!” he screamed, the tears falling down his face. Noct looked down for a moment and looked over at the water where the stuffed animal was floating away into the middle of the pond.

 

“Shit!” Noctis yelled, still reeling in the fish. He looked back to look for Prompto but alas, the blond wasn’t there. He sighed deeply and looked down at the weeping child.

 

“PAPA YOU HAVE TO SAVE HIM! HE CAN’T SWIM!” he sobbed, pointing to the water with his free hand.

 

“What do you mean the frog can’t swim!?” Noct asked, trying to reel the fish in before he had to figure out how to get the stuffed animal.

 

“HE NEVER LEARNED. HE IS A LAND FROG!” he continued to scream as he watched the frog start to soak up more and more water. The fish was almost close enough for Noct to pull out. He just needed to reel a little bit more…

 

Nikolas screamed loudly, breaking Noct’s concentration. “NOOO! HES SINKING! PAPA HE’S SINKING!” Nikolas cried like he was watching a loved one die before his eyes.” PAPA SAVE HIM!” 

 

Noct looked over and saw that the frog was soaking up the water and would soon sink to the bottom of the pond, never to be seen again. Nikolas would lose his mind.

 

He let out a deep sigh. “Fucking dammit!” he yelled, cutting the line for the fish and tossing his pole behind him. He warped over to where the frog was sinking, grabbing it quickly as he fell in the water. He held the animal up for Nikolas to see as he started to swim back to the edge of the pier. Nikolas was jumping up and down, clapping loudly. He cupped his tiny hands around his mouth.

 

“Thank you papa! You saved Mr. Froggy’s life!” he yelled. Noctis couldn’t help but chuckle as he swam back to the pier. He tossed the soggy stuffed animal up first, before hoisting himself back up onto the pier.  Prompto came running as fast as he could back to the pier.

 

“I heard Nikky screaming! What happened!?” he asked frantically, still out of breath. 

 

Noct started by ringing the dirty pond water out of his hair first. “I’m sure you can put the pieces together Prompto.” he said with a deep sigh as he tried to figure out what article of clothing to ring the water out of first.

 

Nikolas tackled Noct’s leg in a tight hug. “Papa saved Mr. Froggy from the water!” he said happily. Noct smiled and patted the boy's head and pushed him away gently so he wouldn't get wet.

 

“It wasn’t that serious. He dropped the thing in the water and I had to go get it. You would have thought he was watching a family member die.” Noctis explained as he ran his hand through his wet hair.

 

“Mr. Froggy is family.” Nikolas corrected. Prompto picked up the soaking wet animal and tried to squeeze the water out of it. 

 

“What about the catch?” 

 

“It was either catch the fish or have Nikolas jump in the water himself,” he said, taking off his soaking wet shirt to ring it out. “Rather save the frog than my drowning son.”

 

Prompto chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss to Noct’s wet lips. “What a hero.” he mocked.

 

Noctis rolled his eyes playfully and kissed Prompto one more time, lingering a little longer than he should have. When they pulled away, Nikolas as standing with his arms across his chest and pouting a bit.

 

“So does this mean we aren’t getting chicken nuggets now?” he asked sadly, looking at both parents. Noctis and Prompto laughed loudly with each other before Noctis ruffled the kid’s hair. 

 

“We can still go. I have some sweatpants in the car somewhere.” Noctis said as he put his arm around Prompto’s waist. Prompto pulled away and shook his head.

 

“You are still soaking wet and smell like gross pond water.” he explained. “I’ll call the place and order ahead. There’s no way I am letting both freaking princes of Lucis sit in a restaurant while one of them is covered in dirty pond water.”

 

Noctis chuckled and tossed his wet shirt over his shoulder.  “Will do. Now let’s get in the car. I’m freezing my ass off!”

 

\----

 

“There you go Nikky. All clean!” Prompto exclaimed as he handed Nikolas the freshly laundered stuffed frog. Nikolas gave it a big hug and smiled brightly up at his dad.

 

“Thank you Daddy!” he exclaimed, burying his face into the top of it and taking a heavy whiff of the pine smell.

 

“No problem Nikky,” he said as he slammed the door to the dryer. “Go check on your Papa for me okay? See if he needs anything?” Prompto asked. Nikolas nodded and ran off into the direction of his parent's bedroom.

 

The boy carefully opened the door to the bedroom, walking in quietly. “Papa? Papa, You okay?” he asked quietly as he walked to the other side of the bed.

 

Noct coughed loudly and let out a groan. He felt like he got ran over by a behemoth. “Yeah…” he said weakly, “I’m okay.” 

 

Nikolas tossed Mr. Froggy onto the bed and climbed up to sit next to the sick man. “Look, Daddy washed Mr. Froggy he doesn’t smell bad anymore. Oh! And he got soup from Uncle Iggy. Soup will make you feel better Papa.” he said, smiling softly.

 

Noct nodded and coughed into his hand. “You shouldn’t be around me buddy. I don’t want to get you sick.” he said, turning his head to face the small child.

 

“But...I don’t want to be alone.” Nikolas said quietly, scooting closer to Noct. 

 

“I’m not alone Nik. I got you and daddy. I’ll be just fine.” he said as he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. 

 

“Well...can I lay right here?” Nikolas asked, setting his stuffed animal between them. “I won’t touch you. I just want to lay here with you.”

 

Noct sighed deeply and nodded. “That’s fine. Just don’t get too close alright? I don’t want everyone blaming me if you get sick.” 

 

“Yay!” Nikolas cheered as he laid down on the bed, getting comfy on top of the blanket. He yawned loudly and closed his eyes. “Night Papa...I love you.”

 

“Love you too Nik. Love you too.” Noct said before coughing again and closing his eyes as well.

 

A little while later, Prompto stepped into the room with a big bowl of hot soup for Noct. “Hey Noct-” he said before looking in the bed in front of him. He couldn't help but crack a smile.

 

Nikolas was snuggled against Noct’s chest, breathing softly as he held onto Mr.Froggy. Noct had his arm around the boy and his face buried in his mess of hair as he snored. Prompto chuckled a bit and set the soup down. There was no way he was going to pass up this opportunity for a picture. He grabbed his phone and snapped a quick picture of the two and set it to his phone wallpaper. He tossed his phone onto the dresser nearby and smiled.

 

“Guess I should have Ignis make more soup. Astrals know that boy and I are getting sick after this.” Prompto said to himself before slipping into the bed next to them, draping his arm over both of his sleeping princes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this whole chapter was written around the fact that I wanted Noct to chose between fishing and something else. I couldn't help myself when it came to writing him jumping in to save Mr.Froggy. He's got to be the hero for his son right???
> 
> Next chapter we will have both families interacting again! Nothing like a good ol' group chapter!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! I don't bite and my chat and ask box are always open!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears
> 
> Feedback and kudos are always and forever appreciated as well!


	6. [Update: Not A Chapter]

I'm so sorry guys. It's been almost a month since my last update. My life has gotten kinda busy but I've also got massive writers block and I'm running low on inspiration. Each chapter I start writing, I end up scraping because I think you guys will find it boring or uninteresting. 

Soooo I came here to ask for your guys' help with ideas for future chapters!

I need some for both families as well as group ones. Also, if you read The Kids Are Alright too, drop your ideas off here as well :)

 

You can leave a comment down below or you can visit my Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears) and leave an ask or message me!

So if you have ideas (or even headcanons!) let me know! I'm excited to hear from you all!

 

As always, thank you guys for all your support and love!


	7. Summer Beach Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both families head to Gladin Quay for a beach vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait on the update guys. And a huge thank you for all the ideas that you guys left behind! I really appreciate it and it really got the gears turning in my head for the first time in a while. I just hope the next chapter won't take me as long to write.
> 
> Thanks for all your love and support!
> 
> Here we have some summer beach fun with both families. I am posting this super late at night so I apologize for typos and stuff because I didn't read it over.
> 
> So I hope you guys enjoy!

“Are we theeeeerrrrreeeee yeeeetttt?” Nikolas whined from his car seat, swinging his legs up and down.

 

“Almost buddy. Relax a little” Noct said from the driver’s seat, looking at the child from the rear view mirror.

 

The boy sunk down in his seat, putting Mr.Froggy over his face in frustration. “It’s been soooo looonnggggg.” 

 

“I know. We are almost there. Then we can get in the water and you’ll forget that you even sat in a chair that long.”

 

A loud huff came from the back seat and Noct sighed deeply. They were only 15 minutes away from Quay and he was determined to make it there before his son blew a gasket.

 

With the kids being a little bit older now, Prompto suggested that both families take a beach trip to Quay to let a bit of steam off. Noctis and Prompto were meeting Ignis and Gladio there and judging by the mass of text messages Noctis had gotten within the last 30 minutes, the other family was already there.

 

“Daddy…” Nikolas whined, rubbing his eyes. “Dadddyyy…”

 

Prompto reached back to give Nikolas a bag of chips so he wouldn’t whine, at least for the time being. Nikolas grabbed the bag quickly, trying to open it right away. He was struggling a bit, trying to tear the bag with his teeth. Prompto sighed and turned in his seat to help the struggling kid.

 

“Lemme help you Nikky.” 

 

“No! I want to do it myself! I can do it!” Nikolas shouted before going back to trying to open the chips.

 

“You are going to spill chips all over the car. Let me help you.” he said, reaching back anyway to grab the bag. Nikolas whined loudly and handed the bag to Prompto, who opened it quickly and handed them to anxious toddler. 

 

“How much longer?”

 

“Only a few more minutes okay. Relax.” Prompto said, leaning back to steal a chip from the kid’s bag. Nikolas pouted and pulled the chip bag closer to his chest.

 

“Hurry...my butt hurts!” Nikolas whined, making both Prompto and Noctis sigh deeply. It was going to be a long day.

 

\----

 

“Nice of you to finally join us.” Ignis commented, from his law chair that was underneath a large umbrella. Malena was curled up in his lap, sleeping soundly as Nevaeh was off with Gladio by the water.

 

“You know we can’t get Noct out of bed before 10.”Prompto joked, letting go of Nikolas’ hand.

 

“There was traffic coming out of the city. Plus, we had to stop every 30 minutes to let Nikolas pee. The kid has a bladder the size of a pea.” Noctis said, tossing the arms full of beach toys onto the ground next to him. “What up with Mal? She sick or something?”

 

“I think it’s the heat combined with a lack of sleep. The poor girl was up all night with an upset stomach.” Ignis replied, rubbing gently across her back.

 

“Is she feeling better?” Prompto asked as he smothered Nikolas in sunblock. Nikolas whined about the smell in response.

 

“I believe so. She wasn’t very happy about waking up this morning though. I am sure she will up and about soon. She gets awfully jealous when she sees others having fun without her.”

 

“Where’s the big guy?” Noctis asked.

 

Ignis pointed to his right, near the water where Gladio was playing in the sand with Nevaeh. It looked like were trying to build a sand castle. “They have been at it for about 20 minutes now. Nevaeh is keen on destroying it each time they get it to look nice.” Ignis explained, rubbing gently on Malena’s back still.

 

“I am sure that will be Nikolas in a little bit. He was bugging the entire ride here. ‘I want to build a sand castle’ every five minutes. It was driving me up the wall.” Noctis said, taking off his shirt and tossing it under the umbrella with Ignis. Prompto finished slathering the boy in sunblock and gave him a little pat on his backside.

 

“You can go play now. Your Uncle Gladio is over there with Nay Nay.” the blond said, pointing to the pair. Nikolas nodded and ran away to join them, leaving both parents in the dust.

 

“Let us hope that he burns all his energy out before bedtime.” Ignis said, picking up his can of Ebony from out the sand next to him.

 

“Yeah. I’m praying to the Six for it. I can’t take him causing a ruckus at the hotel.” Prompto said, taking off his shirt and practically bathing himself in sunblock. Noctis chuckled and laid out the blanket so he could relax and take a nap.

 

“You still have your shirt on… Are you even going to get in the water Specky?” he asked, laying down on the large blanket.

 

“I am not sure,” he said, fixing his glasses. “I am not the strongest swimmer.”

 

“There aren’t even any waves!” Noctis added.

 

“And? I would  prefer not to drown in front of my husband and children.” Ignis replied, pulling Malena’s sun hat over the back of her neck.

 

“You won't drown. If anything Gladio will jump in before you even get a chance to flail your arms.” Noct said, rolling his eyes a bit and laying back down on the blanket.

 

“Like I said, I am not sure. I will decide later when Malena wakes up.”

 

“You spoil her to death Iggy. She is going to be a mess when she gets older, just like Nikolas is.” Prompto said, finishing his second layer of sunscreen before sitting down on the blanket next to Noct.

 

“It is not spoiling to hold her while she sleeps. The sand is uncomfortable and would make her fuss more if I laid her down.” Ignis defended,

 

Prompto gave him a playful shrug before leaning back on his hands. “Suit yourself. You'll regret it later.”

 

Ignis rolled his eyes. “I refuse to take parenting advice from the man who called to ask me if his infant son could have pizza because he was whining about it.”

 

Prompto’s faced flushed red. “At least I asked okay! We were young and stupid trying to raise a baby.”

 

“I very much remember Prompto. No need to remind me. I have rather vivid memories of late night phone calls and early morning drives to make sure you two didn't do anything crazy.”

 

“You should be happy we called you. We could have just did it ya know.” Noct is added from the blanket below.

 

“Nikolas would be quite a different child then. Much worse than you could ever imagine.” Ignis commented, checking underneath Malena’s sunhat to see if she was finally awake.

 

Both Prompto and Noctis scoffed loudly. 

 

“I'm going to the water with Nikky. Hopefully, he doesn't try and pretend he is a frog again and jump in.” Prompto said as he walked over to the other group. “Don't forget sunscreen babe! I do not want to hear you complaining all the way back home because you got burnt!” He yelled back at his husband before running to join the others.

 

Ignis felt Malena shift against his chest, making quite whining noises as she gripped into the front of his shirt. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and set her down to sit on the tops of his thighs. “Good morning sleeping beauty. Ready to go out and play with Pop and Sissy?” Ignis cooed, fixing her sunhat on the top of her head.

 

Noct is made a retching noise from the side, making Ignis scoff loudly. “Come on darling. Let's go see what Pop is up to.” He said, standing up from the chair and heading out towards the water.

 

“Looks who's finally up.” Gladio said, walking over towards Ignis and Malena. Ignis smiled softly and bounced her on his chest just a little. 

 

“She is quite cranky unfortunately but I'm sure that will change soon enough.” He said, trying to pull her from his chest and into his hip. Malena started to whine, clinging onto Ignis’ shirt for dear life. 

 

“Noooooo…” she whined, burying her face in his chest. Ignis sighed deeply and stopped his attempt.

 

“That is your favorite word huh Sweetpea?” Gladio asked, stepping closer to the pair and brushing her little bangs out her face. “Why don't you come to Pop?” He asked.

 

The child just continued to cling, unmoving from Ignis chest.

 

“Why doesn't Malena want to get up Uncle Iggy? It's already morning time! Daddy said it's bad to sleep in like Papa does.” Nikolas asked from the wet sand below.

 

“I'm not sure Nik. She had a stomach ache last night so she didn't get much sleep. She is just cranky.” Ignis responded.

 

“Did she have to go number two? Daddy says when your stomach hurts, it's probably because you have to poop.” Nikolas said plainly, digging his hands in the sand with Nevaeh.

 

Prompto blushed a bright red. “Nikky! Don't say things like that in public. That's gross.”

 

“But...I want Lena to feel better so she can play. So that mean she needs to poo-”

 

“Nikolas!” Prompto interrupted, “Enough!”

 

“Kid’s got no shame whatsoever. Came over to me when he got here and told me he was freeballing and he liked the breeze down there.” Gladio said, chuckling.

 

Prompto was thoroughly embarrassed. Even though both Gladio and Ignis were family and probably knew more about subjects like that, it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

 

“Nikky, I told you a million times you aren't supposed to wear underwear with swimming trunks.”

 

“I know I know.” He said, packing the bucket with wet sand for the castle. “But I wanted to tell Uncle Gladio. He should know how nice it feels.”

 

Prompto sighed deeply and looked at Gladio with an apologetic look. “Aren't you glad you have girls?”

 

“At least I can relate to Nik's problems and stuff. When the girls get older and want to talk about this stuff. I won't have any clue. So I'm enjoying it now while I can.” Gladio said, glancing at Nevaeh and Nikolas below him.

 

“Ah! Your right! I mean at least you had some experience with Iris! If Noct and I had a girl, we would be so screwed. As if we don't have a hard time with Nikolas already.” Prompto said, letting the wave crash over his feet.

 

Gladio was getting ready to reply with something snappy when he felt little arms on his calves and series of babbles. He looked down to see Nevaeh trying to stand up and get his attention. Gladio chuckled and bent over to grab her hands and helping her stand up on her own.

 

A wave crashed down and soaked the little girl’s feet, making her giggle loudly and stomp her feet.

 

“MY CASTLE!” Nikolas yelled from nearby. All three men turned their head towards the shrieking to see a mound of melting sand and a small boy with tears in his eyes. 

 

“DADDY! MY SANDCASTLE!” Nikolas cried, running over to the blonde and burying his face in his thigh. Prompto sighed and picked up with a loud grunt. 

 

“Why did you make your sand castle by the water dude? I told you the water will wash it away.” he explained, dusting the sand off his tear covered face.

 

Nikolas sniffed loudly, wiping his tears with his forearm. “The wet sand made my castle look cooler.”

 

“You could have taken the wet sand somewhere away from the water buddy. Remember that for next time.”

 

“I don’t wanna build sand castles anymore.” he said sharply, burying his face in his Daddy’s neck.

 

“But you had been talking about it all day! What do you want to do then if you don’t want to build sand castles?” Prompto asked, patting his back softly.

 

“Take me into the water. I wanna see a fishy.” he muttered.

 

“Well, the fish might just run away from us. They don’t like humans too much. We are scary to them. We do eat them remember.”

 

“Well...can we at least try?” 

 

“Of course buddy. Lemme go get your life jacket. I’ll be back.” he said, putting the sad child down and running toward the umbrella.

 

“Noct! Get up! We are getting in the water!” Prompto said, pulling a child sized life jacket out a bag before nudging Noct with his foot.

 

A loud groan came from the darker haired man as he turned around to face away from his spouse.

 

“You can’t sleep all day Noctis.” Prompto pouted.

 

“Watch me.” he challenged in a sleepy voice, burying his face in further into his arms with a loud yawn. Prompto rolled his eyes and walked off back to the others. He dropped down into a squat and started putting the life jacket on Nikolas.

 

“Is Papa coming in the water with us?” Nikolas asked innocently.

 

“I asked him and he says he wants to sleep. Sorry, buddy.”

 

“But he is always sleeping!!” he whined loudly.

 

“I know I know….You know what….why don’t you go wake him up? I’m sure he will come if you ask him. You know, like when you ask him to make you breakfast in the morning when I am not home.” he suggested, tightening the straps in the front with a shit eating grin on his face.

 

Noct was in for it now.

 

“Okay!” he said excitedly as he ran over towards their spot where Noctis was sound asleep on the blanket.

 

“Paaaappppaaaaa! Papa!” he shouted. Nikolas dropped to his knees and started shaking him violently. “Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Waaakkkeeee upppp! Come into the water with us! Pleeeaaassseeee?”

 

Noctis groaned louder, curling up into a ball and shaking his head. “Papa is sleepy Nik.”

 

“You are always sleepy! Come play with us! Please please please pleaaassseee?” he whined, poking his side now.

 

“Later Nik. And please stop poking me. That hurts.”

 

“But Papa…..” he said, his voice starting to crack as if he was going to start crying. Noctis looked up and saw those big green eyes swimming with fresh tears. 

 

“Nikolas Lucis Caelum...don’t start crying.”

 

“But you don’t want to play with us! You don’t love me and daddy anymore!” he said, the tears streaming down his face already. 

 

“That is not true Nikolas. I told you I would come play later.”

 

“But I want you to play now!!!” he sobbed, covering his teary eyes with his hands. He started to wail, causing the other beachgoers to look over at his. Noctis popped up and sighed deeply.

 

“Nik, please...You are making a scene!” he said quietly, patting his back. It only made the kid sob even louder, causing Noctis to jolt.

 

“Papa won’t come play with meeeee!” he shouted loudly.

 

“Okay! Okay! I will come and play! Just please stop crying!” he shouted back.

 

Nikolas immediately stopped crying and gave him a big goofy grin. Noct’s jaw dropped as he realized he was just bamboozled by a 4-year-old kid. Nikolas stood up and grabbed Noctis’ hand and attempted to help him up.

 

“Come on Papa! Everyone is waiting!” 

 

“You sly little boy.” he said with a soft smile as he sat up and pulled off his shirt. He grabbed Nikolas’ hand and lead the excited little boy down to the shore.

 

\----

 

Nikolas was in Prompto’s back, riding him like a dolphin as he swam around the water. The boy was shouting in excitement while Noctis watched from the shore. Prompto was happily carrying him around, making strange dolphin noises and laughing with Nikolas when the noises sounded more like a fart than anything else.

 

“Faster daddy! Swim faster!” Nikolas shouted happily. Prompto chuckled and nodded in agreement. Nikolas turned to look at Noctis at the shore. “Look papa! Look at me!” he called out, waving his hand in the air.

 

Noctis smiled and waved back. “Be careful Nik! Don’t fall off of his back!”

 

“I won't! Promise!” he yelled.

 

Gladio had Malena in his arms, carefully swimming out so the girl could be submerged. She babbled in happiness as she splashed the water below her. Gladio held the girl tightly as he moved her from his chest and let her lower half dip in the water so her feet can flail around.

 

“Gladio! Please be careful!” Ignis called out from nearby. He had Nevaeh in his arms, having a little splashing battle back and forth.

 

“It’s fine Iggy! She’s having fun. She’s kicking her legs like crazy under the water. She thinks she can swim.” he said back, smiling brightly at the little girl and making her giggle. He leaned down and peppered her face with little kisses that made her laugh even louder.

 

“Pa!” she squeaked out, reaching out to grab his face. 

 

“Yup that’s me, sweet pea.” he said back, leading down to let her grab hold of his face. She immediately went for the beard as always, tugging lightly at the dark hairs.

 

“Hey hey, no pulling. That hurts. That’s what makes Pop look cool so you can’t pull it out just yet.” he joked.

 

“So you are the  _ cool _ dad now Gladio?” Ignis asked, making his way over to the other two, Nevaeh resting her head on his shoulder.

 

“Always have, always will.” Gladio said with a cocky grin. Ignis playfully rolled his eyes. 

 

“Well Mr.Cool dad, Nevaeh is completely worn out and snoring in my ear so I am going to head back to the blankets and start to pack up. It will be getting dark soon and we should be heading to the room as well. All three of these children are bound to crash within the next twenty to thirty minutes.” Ignis explained, carefully ringing the water out of Nevaeh’s hair.

 

“Will do Iggy. We will be up there in a little bit. Malena is starting to get a little glassy-eyed over here. She’s fighting sleep.” he replied, giving him a quick peck on the lips and bringing his attention back to the baby in front of him.

 

“Sounds like Nevaeh as well. Neither had a nap in the middle of the day like usual so I expected this much. They have worn themselves out.” Ignis said with a soft smile as Nevaeh gently snored in his ear.

 

“Good. Means they will probably fall asleep in the portable crib this time. I don’t know if I can take another night of them in between us. It was a mess.”

 

“Indeed. But we won’t find out until we set it up. We can only send prayers to the gods that they will stay sleeping.” Ignis commented.

 

Gladio nodded in agreement. “Then let’s get out of here. Start packing the stuff, I’ll get Prom and Nik.”

 

Ignis nodded padded out the water slowly, heading back to shore and to their belongings, making sure Noctis was following close behind.

 

“Yo Prom!” Gladio called out as he put Malena onto his chest.

 

Prompto stopped for a moment and pulled his head up above the water, Nikolas holding on tight to his neck. “Yeah?”

 

“It’s going to get dark and we are going to head to the hotel soon so I suggest you work that kid out so he falls out within the next twenty minutes.” 

 

“It’s that late already?! Jeez where did the time go?” he asked himself before trying to turn his head back towards Nikolas. “You hear Uncle Gladdy buddy?”

 

Nikolas nodded but made no effort to remove himself from his neck. “We still have time. I haven’t even seen a fishy yet.”

 

“I told you that fish are scared of people.” Prompto corrected, peeling his little hands from his neck and slinging him on his hip. 

 

“But….But…”

 

“No buts. I can’t make fish come out of nowhere buddy.” Prompto said, petting the boy’s wet mop of hair. Nikolas pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“No fair.” he huffed, grumbling to himself as tears started to fill his eyes.

 

“Okay, your attitude is through the roof kid. I think it’s time to get to the room and get to bed.”

 

“Nooo! Uncle Gladdy said twenty minutes!” he whined, his pout getting deeper. Prompto could practically smell the tantrum coming in force. But he wasn’t going to deal with it. Not this time.

 

“That's twenty minutes before we have to leave. You are getting cranky dude and I am not going to deal with a temper tantrum over some fish.” Prompto said. “So let’s get out the water and dry you off so we can get ready to leave.”

 

“Can we swim for a little while longer? Please?” Nikolas asked, his face softening. 

  
  


“Nikky...We need to get ready to leave. You are already cranky and quite honestly, so am I.”

 

“Please daddy? I promise I won’t throw a tan-tu-rum.”

 

Prompto couldn’t help but crack a smile at his pronunciation of tantrum. As much as the boy was working his nerves at the moment, he couldn’t help but give in like he always did. He had a hard time saying no when he was cute like that. So much for trying to discipline him more, Prompto thought.

 

. “Okay. But only a little bit okay? I don’t want you falling asleep standing up like your papa over there.”

 

Both boys look over to their spot on the floor, and sure enough, there was Noctis, nodding off standing up as Ignis and Gladio put the stuff away for the day.

 

“Should I go wake him up daddy?” Nikolas asked with a devilish little smile. Prompto smiled back and nodded, letting him run towards Noctis.

 

"Paaaapppppaaaaa!"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the ending is a little off. I had no idea how to end it....so I just did. Sorry :(
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! I don't bite and my chat and ask box are always open!
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> Thanks for reading!


	8. Discounted Beef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friendly face stops by to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been a while since I updated and I am sorry! I am going to try to keep up and post more often though, I promise!
> 
> I am all aboard the dad!Cor headcanon train and this chapter proves it. So I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @mermaid-fin-and-mermaid-tears
> 
> My ask box and inbox are always open to chat. I love hearing what you guys have to say and hearing your headcanons and making new buddies!
> 
>  
> 
> <http://mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears.tumblr.com/post/162868772527/i-know-it-has-been-a-while-since-i-updated-some>  
> 

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Nikolas yelled running from his room.

 

“What? What? What?” Prompto said, mocking the boy’s tone.

 

“Pop Pop's car is outside! I seen it!” Nikolas said, practically running to the door to greet his grandpa. 

 

Prompto looked confused for a moment, grabbing his phone and checking for missed calls or messages. There wasn't anything he missed. He would normally call or something before he stopped by nowadays. It made him worry a little bit. So he got up and followed Nikolas to the door. 

 

Nikolas reached up and opened the door, running outside as he saw Cor walking up the walkway to their apartment. “Pop Pop!”

 

Cor cracked a little smile and dropped down to his knee so he could hug the toddler. “Hey, Nik. You look like you've grown a bit. Your hair has gotten long too.” He said, picking him up and slinging him on his hip.

 

Prompto stood in the doorway with a smile. “Hey, dad. What brings you to this side of town? You normally call.” He said, moving out the way so he could walk inside.

 

“The grocery store I always go to had some discounted ground beef and I know you're always making spaghetti so I picked some up for you. Plus they were having a sale on the cereal you like so I bought some boxes of that too.” He said, carrying Nikolas into the house. “I'll go grab the bags in a second.”

 

“It's okay dad, I'll go get them.” Prompto said walking over to his car and opening up the backseat. There were at least 3 bags full of frozen ground beef and 3 bags with multiple boxes of cereal in it. Prompto sighed deeply, “he always gets too much…” He said to himself as he grabbed all the bags at once, kicking the door closed and walking to the house.

 

“Pop Pop! Pop Pop! Look what I drew!” Nikolas said, holding up a drawing of yet another frog. For smiled and grabbed the paper to look at it closer.

 

“Nice. Make me a frog too so I can put it on the fridge with the rest of em.” Cor said, patting his head. Nikolas nodded furiously and ran over to the coffee table where all his art supplies were at. 

 

Prompto dropped all the bags into the kitchen and slouched in the chair.

 

“This place is a mess Prompto.” Cor reprimanded.

 

“Yeah well you didn't tell me you were coming by today so I could fix up anything.” Prompto said, pouting a little. “Our place never looked clean.”

 

“That's because I was living in the human equivalent of a shoe box with a baby who loved toys and making forts and messes.” He added, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I kept it relatively clean.”

 

Prompto raised his brows and smiled. “Yeah right. There were more stains on the carpet than anything.”

 

“Fruit punch and oatmeal are hard to get out of carpets. Not to mention the applesauce stains.” He said with a small smile. 

 

Prompto gave a nervous chuckle and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah...I was a clumsy kid.” he muttered.

 

“Yeah but that didn't stop me from trying to get the stains out the carpet,” Cor said. “Don’t make me come in here with a bucket and some damn sponges and help you clean this place.”

 

“No no no no no. It’s fine. I’ll clean up a little.” Prompto said, shaking his hands in front of his face. “Next time just shoot me a text message if you are stopping by. I could have at least put some decent clothes on Nikky. He is still covered in his breakfast.”

 

“I’ll try next time. I just came out of a whim,” he said with a shrug. “Where’s Noctis?”

 

“Probably sleeping. He had a long night trying to read over some meeting notes so we let him sleep in a little.”

 

“Actually starting to take over some of his duty as king now?” Cor asked, raising his brow a little. He moved to sit down on a chair next to Prompto, pulling a cola out of one of the bags in front of him.

 

“Well...yeah. Since Nikolas is getting older, he decided now was the time to start taking some of the stress off Regis. It’s cool and all but Nikky is upset that he isn’t around as much as he used to be. I tried to explain to him in the simplest way I could be but he just didn’t understand. He just throws a fit when he finds out he’s not coming home until late or he leaves early. I think we spoiled him a little too much.” Prompto vented, putting his forearms on his legs. He let out a deep sigh and straightened his back out.

 

“I know you weren’t  around a lot when I was a younger so I am used to it but I have no idea how to explain that Noctis has duties that are just as important to him. Both Noct and I have no idea how to even explain this since neither of us had this problem before.” the blonde said, looking toward Cor for an answer. 

Cor took a huge sip of his drink before setting it down. “Listen, Prompto. This is apart of being a parent. You can’t be nice to them all the time. Sometimes you have to sit them down and tell them the truth and they have to learn to accept it.” he started, moving forward in his seat. “Nikolas is young. I get it. He is a spoiled brat and I will take my part of the responsibility for that but you have to tell him that throwing a damn tantrum isn’t going to bring Noct home. He is getting to the age where he is going to have to start training as well so we all need to change how we approach him about this stuff.” Cor explained, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair again.

 

Prompto let a deep sigh. He was right. They had to stop babying him, even if he was their baby boy. He ran his hands down his face and let out another sigh. He wasn't sure how to handle all this but he did give some solid advice, as always.

 

“Thanks, Dad...you always steer me in the right direction.” Prompto said, looking over towards Cor with a warm smile.

 

“Ain’t that my job? I didn't spend twenty plus years taking care of you for nothing. I know I wasn't around for you when you were growing up but every parent goes through a moment where they have to tell their kids the bad news. I remember the tears that ran down your face when I told you I couldn’t go to your school on your first career day. It broke me into pieces to see you cry like that but I couldn't change the fact that I had a job to do. As much as I wanted to go and talk to a bunch of five-year-olds about the crownsguard, I couldn't. So you are now facing that crossroad. Where you decide to take it, is your choice.” he said, giving Prompto his signature stern look.

 

“Yes...I understand.” 

 

Cor reached over and grabbed his soda again before he heard slow footsteps against the wood floor behind him. “Morning, Prince Noctis.” Cor said in the most sarcastic of ways. 

 

“Morning, Cor the Immortal.” he muttered back, yawning a little. “You didn’t say he was stopping by Prom. I would have gotten up or something.” 

 

“I didn’t know either. Nikky saw him out the window before I did.” Prompto said, looking towards the kitchen where Noctis was searching through the fridge.

 

“I was at the grocery store and picked up a few things so I brought them here.” Cor stated, drinking some more of his soda. “There is some ground beef and cereal. I wasn’t what sure what kind you guys eat now so I got what looked good to me.”

 

Noctis walked over to the bags and looked inside and settled on a box of cinnamon squares. “Thanks, Cor. ‘ppreciate it.” he said still half asleep, pouring the bowl of cereal.

 

Nikolas walked into the kitchen and held up a drawing right in Cor’s face. “Look! I drew you a froggy like you said. It’s a Pop Pop froggy!” he said with a bright smile. The frog was colored all black except for a few brown spots on his back and there was a sword on the floor in front of it. “I even drew your sword!”

 

Cor cracked a small smile and grabbed the picture from him. “Looks great Nik. You really captured me as frog very well. You are very talented.” he said, reaching down and ruffling his hair.

 

Nikolas giggled and looked up at him again. “Are you going to put it in the fridge?”

 

“Of course. That’s where all the stuff you draw me goes,” he said, picking up to put him on his knee. “Oh, my. You are getting too big to pick up Nik.”

 

Nikolas reached over and hugged around his neck. “It’s good you are strong then! You can carry me forever!”

 

Cor chuckled and patted the boy’s back. “If only. I’m getting old. Soon you are going to have to be carrying me around.” he joked back.

 

Prompto watched with a warm smile on his face, snapping a quick picture on his phone for the memories. Cor was always good with Nikolas, even from day one. It showed how happy he was to be a grandfather in the first place. 

 

The moment was interrupted by Cor’s phone ringing in his pocket. He pulled Nikolas away and reached into his pocket. HE slid his thumb across the screen and put it his ear. “Cor speaking….Oh, Clarus….You need me now?...Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can….bye.”

 

“Duty calls?” Prompto asked a little sad he had to leave so soon.

 

“As always. New recruits need a little more discipline than Clarus can give.” he said, standing up wit Nikolas. 

 

“You can’t go Pop Pop! You just got here…” Nikolas whined, the tears coming up in his eyes.

 

“I wish I could stay Nikolas.  But I have to go to my job so I can protect you, your parents, your grandpa Regis, and everyone else here in Insomnia.” he said in his stern voice. “Okay?”

 

Nikolas wiped the few tears from his eyes and nodded. “Will you come back?”

 

“Of course,” Cor said, setting him down onto his feet. “How about I come get you this weekend and we can go out and have some fun. Maybe I'll teach you a thing or two about fighting.”

“Dad!” Prompto yelled.

 

“I’m just kidding Prompto. I wouldn’t let him fight so young. He would cut his hand off or something.” Cor added.

 

“Can...we go to the movies?” Nikolas asked, shifting on his toes and heels.

 

“Sure. Movies on Saturday it is.”

 

“Yay!! Movies! Movies! Movies!” Nikolas chanted, jumping up and down.

 

“But you better be good. If your dad tells me you have thrown a fit or you are being a brat, I won't take you to the movies. Deal?”

 

“Deal!”

 

“Okay. See you Saturday then.” he said, kissing the top of Nikolas’ head. He walked into the kitchen and gave Noctis a firm handshake as a goodbye.

 

“I’ll walk you out to your car Dad.” Prompto said as he followed the older man out the front door and into the driveway. “Thanks for stopping by. Nikky always gets happy when he sees you.”

 

“I saw. I’ll try to come by a little more often, okay? Maybe help you out a little bit since Noct is going into full blown king mode. I know you aren’t used to parenting alone but I can give you as much knowledge as I can.” Cor said, looking a little defeated. “I wanted to stay longer-”

 

“Dad.” Prompto started, “It’s okay. I know you have duties to uphold. Nikky will understand soon too. Now, don't be sorry. Go over and show those new recruits who they are messing with and I’ll see you on Saturday with a clean house and a semi clean son because Astrals know he can't stay clean for twenty minutes.” Prompto said with a warm smile. 

 

Cor nodded and reached over to give Prompto a hug. “Okay. See you then.” he said, unlocking the car and hopping in and starting the car.

 

“Oh, and Dad!”

 

Cor rolled down the window, “Huh?”

 

“Thank you for the advice and I love you!” he said.

 

Cor chuckled and looked at him. “Love you too Prom.” he replied before pulling out the driveway and down the street.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon that Cor has been getting them groceries and baby supplies since Nikky was born. Noct and Prom had a baby young so they didn't always have everything they needed so Cor would show up with bags of diapers and formula so they didn't have to worry.
> 
> He's a good man who loves his adopted son and his grandbaby.


	9. Birthday Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the twins first birthday!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall!
> 
> Sorry for the long hiatus. I had a lot of personal issues as of the last couple months that was keeping me from being able to write some new stuff for you guys. So here I am, presenting a new chapter for you guys after a longggg time.
> 
> I'm still taking requests and ideas for future chapter since I am a little down on ideas as of late. I hope you guys enjoy the girl's birthday party! 
> 
> Comments are also much appreciated and wanted as I love to hear your thoughts and it makes my day to read them all!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @mermaid-fin-and-mermaid-tears
> 
> My ask box and inbox are always open to chat. I love hearing what you guys have to say and hearing your headcanons and ideas and making new buddies If you have anything inspired by this fic (fan art, fics, anything!!) Tag me in it on Tumblr so I can show you all the love! It really brightens my day!
> 
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> 
> <http://mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears.tumblr.com/post/162868772527/i-know-it-has-been-a-while-since-i-updated-some>  
> 

“Happy birthday my munchkins!” Gladio cooed to both girls as he walked in their nursery. Both girls were up and playing in their cribs, but the moment they saw Gladio walk in the room, they dropped what they were doing.

 

Nevaeh pulled herself up and stood in the front bars of her crib, bouncing up and down in excitement. 

 

“You girls ready for your birthday party?” He asked, walking over to Nevaeh’s crib first and picking her up and then going to Malena's and picking her up as well. “Let's get you two all washed up. Daddy bought you guys special outfits for you two to wear.” 

 

The girls cooed loudly and bounced in his arms as he took them to the bathroom to wash them up.

 

\----

 

“Noctis, that isn't straight at all. A little up in the right.” Ignis said, crossing his arm.

 

“It's hard to put a banner up when I can't see all of it.” Noctis bit back, moving up just like Ignis asked.

 

“Just a little Noctis, not an entire foot.” 

 

“I'm trying here!” Noctis snapped back. Ignis sighed and stepped away for a moment. Prompto looked over at Noctis and sighed.

 

“Chill out Noct. You know how Iggy gets when he is stressed out and he's super stressed out.” Prompto said in a low tone behind him, setting up balloons. 

 

“Yeah but he doesn't have to be so damn perfect with things no one is going to notice.” Noct said back, lowering the banner a little.

 

“You forget this is his first birthday party for his  _ own _ kids. He was disconnected from all your birthday parties because it was part of his job but these are his babies. He wants it to be perfect. You only get one first birthday.” Prompto said, tying up a few balloons.

 

Noctis rolled his eyes. “You weren't like this.”

 

“That because Regis hired a bunch of people to make it nice. Iggy and Gladio were on their own on this one.” He said. “So, cut him a little slack today. He is already on his third cup of coffee, so it only means it's going to be a long day.” Prompto pointed out as he left to get more balloons.

 

“That works fine for now Noctis. Tape it up good to it doesn’t fall on the guests..” Ignis said, looking over at the empty tables around and rubbing his temples. There was already so much he needed to get done, and the party was going to start in a few hours. He was going to need the entire pot of coffee before he made it to the actual party.

 

“I’ll be right back. I'm going to see if Gladio got the girls up and ready to go. Noctis, if you could hang these shell decorations from the patio, I would greatly appreciate it.” He said before heading inside.

 

He heard the bathtub running, so that was a good sign. He refilled his coffee cup and headed towards the bathroom to see if the girls were getting out of hand. He peeked in to see Gladio carefully washing Malena’s hair while Nevaeh splashed around with a rubber duck. He smiled softly and took a sip of his coffee.

 

“I hear you back there Ig. Just come in. The girls will be happy to see you.” Gladio said, still focused on keeping the soap from Malena's eyes as he washed.

 

Ignis let out a breathy chuckle and stepped inside. “Happy birthday my loves.” He said with a bright smile.

 

Both girls smiled back and reached up for Ignis to pick them up. 

 

“Nuh-uh. You finish your bath first  _ then _ daddy will pick you up.”  Gladio said as he gently ran some water over Malena's head. 

 

Both girls started to whine, reaching up further. Ignis reached over and kissed both of their hands. 

 

“I will pick you up when you two are finished with your bath. Just like Pop said.” He said, smiling softly. Both girls pouted, and Nevaeh crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “Nevaeh Arya. No attitudes today or you will not play with your birthday gifts.” Ignis said in a stern tone. 

 

“Terrible twos are fast approaching.” Gladio joked as he got Malena to sit still as he rinsed her hair.

 

“Please do not remind me.” Ignis said with a sip of his coffee. “I still need to set up the tables. Food still needs to be checked on. I still need to set up the games-”

 

“Iggy. Relax.” Gladio said, looking up. “We got it handled. There's more than enough hands to get it done so stop stressing out and micromanaging. It's their first birthday, not a royal gathering.”

 

Ignis sighed softly and nodded. “You are correct. I will try my best to relax…” he said quietly. He leaned down and gave him a kiss. “Their outfits are in the box on the white dresser. Hair accessories and shoes as well.” He said.

 

Gladio nodded and turned his attention back to the splashing children in front of him. Ignis smiled again and headed back out to the backyard.

 

“I really like this mermaid theme Iggy! It's super cute! I thought you were for sure going to do a princess theme since you and Gladio are always calling them princess.” Prompto said as he started working on tablecloths. 

 

“We were originally going to go with the princess theme, but Gladio suggested that we go with a theme that was less common. We both came to the decision to change the theme to mermaids when the girls fell in love with a television show about mermaid children.” Ignis explained as he pulled out a bag of pink and blue tablecloths. He started to dress each table with a different colored tablecloth while Prompto set out the centerpieces.

 

“That’s a good idea. I am sure the girls are excited about it.” Prompto said, setting down the centerpieces in the middle of the table.

 

“They have been. They found a bag of decorations and played with all of them. Gladio found them rolling around over some of the paper goods.” he explained.

 

Noctis was setting up balloons around the yard, trying to make them look as good as he could. “Sounds like Nikky.” Noctis said.

 

“Oh yeah. Nikky was in all the bags when it is time for his parties. We have to go hide them at the citadel so that he can’t find them.” Prompto added.

 

“I put them away in a closet, so they have not seen them since.” Ignis said, finishing another table. He grabbed his cup of coffee and took a sip. “Noctis, if you could grab the small pool from the side of the house and fill it with the bags of sand next to it, I would greatly appreciate it.” 

 

“Wait. What? A kiddie pool full of sand?” Noctis asked.

 

“It’s for a party game. The children will dig in the sand to find plastic shells. The winner will win a prize.” Ignis explained.

 

“You really are going all out with this, aren’t you Specs”? Noctis asked, brows raised.

 

“Only the best for my girls.” Ignis said with a coy smile.

 

\---

 

“Darling, don’t run. You are going to trip on something.” Ignis said to Malena who was clumsily running to play with all the other kids.

 

The party was going well so far. The yard was full of family and friends all enjoying the festivities of the evening. The adults were conversing at the tables while the kids were running around and playing with all the mermaid themed toys he had bought. Gladio was keeping his eyes on the kids since he knew the girls were still little and didn’t have the grasp of smoothy walking around like the other kids just yet. Ignis was out playing host to everyone; greeting all the guests, making sure the food was okay, and planning out all the events.

 

Iris came walking up to Ignis with a big smile and a hug. “My nieces look so cute in those little dresses you got made! I love the little green shimmer scale fabric on the poofy part of the skirt. And their little shell hair trinkets are super duper cute!” she gushed.

 

Ignis smiled and nodded as he looked over at the girls - who were sitting in the grass with Nikolas playing with the plastic shells. “Thank you, Iris. I did my best to try and request something simple to make yet fun enough for a first birthday party.” He explained.

 

“Well, it looks great! Everything is super cute! Even the napkins are shaped like shells!” 

 

“Those took a while to find actually. Gladio went to six different party stores to try and find them.” Ignis said with a little chuckle.

 

“Well, the details paid off. It looks great, and there are so many people here!” Iris said with a smile.

 

“Thank you. I appreciate the compliment.” 

 

His eyes moved across the yard to see if everyone had finished eating so he could move on to the cake. It seemed the majority of people had finished, so Ignis started getting ready for cake. 

 

“Gladio! Grab the girls and put them in their chairs. It’s time for cake.” he said as he headed into the house to grab the large cake for the guests and the two small individual cakes for the girls. Gladio grabbed both giggling girls and put them in their high chairs in front of the cake table. All the guests were starting to gather in front of the table, watching both girls struggle against the chair.

 

“Hey hey hey! Relax. You two aren’t in trouble. You are getting cake so just stay put.” Gladio said to both girls who were trying to climb out of the seat. Noctis brought out the larger cake and set it down, and Ignis followed with the two small cakes - one pink and one purple. He set the smaller cakes down in front of each girl and had Gladio guard one cake while Ignis guarded the other. He didn’t want them to smash into them just yet.

 

“Okay everyone, on three. One, two three!” Ignis called out. The guest followed suit and started to sing happy birthday to the girls.

 

The girls were smiling and laughing at everyone singing to them, clapping their hands in excitement. 

 

**_Happy birthday to yooouuu!_ **

 

Once the song was over, Gladio and Ignis let their guard down and let them attack the cake. Malena wasted no time in mashing up her cake, shoving the purple frosted cake onto her face to take a bit. Nev looked up at both Ignis and Gladio before diving into her cake. Both of them smiled and nodded.

 

“Go for it, sweetie.” Gladio said with a kiss on the head. Nevaeh then started to smash into her cake, taking a handful and putting it into her mouth. Both girls’ faces were covered in pink and purple frosting and cake bits in moments. Everyone was taking pictures of the messy eaters and cooing about how cute they looked.

 

Iris was over at the cake table, helping Prompto serve the larger cake to the guests while they sat back and watched.

 

Gladio put his arm around Ignis and pulled him close.

 

“I liked the individual cake idea, Gladio. Though you will be the ones getting the cake out of their hair.” Ignis pointed out with a chuckle.

 

“Is it time for presents yet Uncle Iggy?” Nikolas asked, already taking a bite of his cake.

 

“After cake Nikky.” Gladio said.

 

“Okay! Because they got a looottttt of presents.” He said, pointing to the overflowing table of presents nearby.

 

“We know. Both of us will be helping the girls open them.” Ignis pointed out. Nikolas nodded and ran back to sit next to Noctis and eat his cake.

 

Gladio and Ignis did their best to clean as much cake off the girls as they could so they could move onto the gift table. It was easier said than done and Gladio knew he was going to be washing cake out of their hair for a few days.

 

Once the girls were semi-clean, they set them down on the grass in front of the table and started to open gifts.

 

“Open mine first!” Iris said with a big smile on her face, pushing it towards them. Ignis nodded and grabbed the large pink wrapped box and set it in front of the girls. They all opened the gift to reveal a mermaid themed inflatable ball pit for the girls to play in. Ignis chuckled and pointed the picture on the box for the girls to see. They cooed and patted the box a few times.

 

“Later my loves. Later.” Ignis said as he grabbed the next gift which was from Regis. They opened it up to reveal two custom-made baby dolls that looked identical to each girl. The girls grabbed the box right away and tried to get Gladio to open them.

 

“Seems like I made a good choice.” Regis said with a low chuckle. 

 

“It would seem you did. Thank you, your majesty.” Ignis said.

 

The girls chose the biggest gift next. It was easily a  3-foot tall box wrapped in shimmery pink wrapping paper. Gladio looked at the name on top and chuckled. 

 

“This is from Grandpa.” he said to the girls. He knew Clarus was going to go over the top for his grandbabies. Clarus stood next to Regis with a huge grin on his face as the girls tried to tear open the paper.

 

Ignis’ eyes blew big when he saw what it was. 

 

It was a play kitchen for the girls. A massive and expensive one at that. 

 

“It also adjusts a little, so when they grow, they can still use it. I know the girls see you cooking all the time so they like the kitchen so I  thought they would want a little kitchen of their own.” Clarus explained.

 

“Wow...Dad you didn’t have to.” Gladio said.

 

“I wanted too. Nothing but the best for my grandbabies. Just make sure you set it up for my girls soon. I can’t have them digging in my cabinets anymore.” he said with a smile. The girls were looking at the box and touching it all over, cooing at their parents to get them to open it.

 

It seemed like they were going to take a little while to open and admire every gift they got. Three gifts down, an entire table to go.

 

\---

 

Everything had slowed down; people were getting ready to leave. Ignis was thanking them for coming and making sure people got a small treat bag and whatever leftover food they wanted. Gladio was helping Prompto and Noctis clean up the tables and food while the kids were playing in the sandbox.

 

“Thank you for coming, your majesty.” Ignis said with a slight bow. 

 

“Of course I was going to come. Those girls are practically my own grandchildren, so I had to be here to celebrate. The party was smashing, Ignis. Job well done.” Regis said, patting his shoulder.

 

“Thank you. Have a safe trip home.” Ignis said with another bow. Regis nodded and slowly made his way out the side gate and to his driver.

 

Clarus came up and gave Ignis a firm handshake and a hug. “This was a great party. The girls looked like they had a lot of fun.”

 

“Yes, they did. I am sure they will fall asleep as soon as they lay down in their beds.” Ignis said with a chuckle. “Thank you for coming and for your help.” he added.

 

“No problem. I’ll come by next week sometime to help Gladio set up the kitchen for the girls. I got them a bunch of toy food too to go with it, so I’ll bring that too.”

 

“That would be wonderful. I will see you then.” Ignis said. Clarus nodded and headed out the door as well.

 

It wasn’t long until all the guests were gone, save from Prompto, Noctis, and Nikky. Noctis and Prompt helped clean up and headed into the house along with Gladio, Ignis, and the girls. Prompto plopped on the couch and yawned.

 

“Hey, Iggy! I think we are going to stay the night. I am sooo tired, and Nikky is practically knocked out on the living room floor over there.” Prompto said, pointing to Nikolas who was the pillow for both of the girls, who were sleeping as well. Ignis laughed a little and snapped a picture with his phone.

 

“Guess they had a little too much  fun.” Ignis joked before sitting down on the couch next to Gladio. He curled up next to his husband and rested his head on his shoulder. Gladio smiled and kissed Ignis’ head.

 

“You think the girls had a good time?” Ignis asked Gladio.

 

“Of course they did. They were laughing and playing all day, and they got enough toys to last them a lifetime,” he said. “Plus they are knocked out on the floor over there so of course they had fun.”

 

“Good. I got worried there for a moment, but you are right, they looked like they enjoyed their birthday.” he said with a smile.

 

“The party was great specs. Don’t worry about it. Everyone loved it.” Noctis said, half asleep already.

 

“Thank you two for all your help by the way.” Ignis said.

 

“No problem! That’s what friends are for!” Prompto said with a bright smile.

 

Ignis looked over at Prompto and Noctis then at the cuddle puddle of children on the living room floor, covered in cake and sand, and smiled warmly. Everything was a success and all the proof was right there, sleeping on the living room floor.

 

“You are right about that.”  


	10. Candy Fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and Nikky spend some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...I know it's been a million years since I last updated but life has been a whirlwind lately. I missed this fic a lot so here I am, back with another chapter for you guys! I got some suggestions from Tumblr saying that Noct and Nikky should have some alone time so I came up with this.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy! Excuse any bad mistakes in this. I'm sick and I didn't read this over before posting.
> 
>  
> 
> Comments are also much appreciated and wanted as I love to hear your thoughts and it makes my day to read them all!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @mermaid-fin-and-mermaid-tears
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> <http://mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears.tumblr.com/post/172983852947/after-a-million-years-i-am-finally-working-on-a>  
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> 
> My ask box and inbox are always open to chat. I love hearing what you guys have to say and hearing your headcanons and ideas and making new buddies If you have anything inspired by this fic (fan art, fics, anything!!) Tag me in it on Tumblr so I can show you all the love! It really brightens my day!

“Papaaaa!! Papaaaaaaaaa!” Nikolas shouted, jumping on the bed as Noctis hugged the pillow under him. “Papa!” He cheered, jumping on his back. “Wake up papa! Wake up!”

 

Noctis groaned loudly, pushing his face into his pillow. “I want you to let Papa sleep.” He muttered from the pillow.

 

“But…but…” Nikky whined, the tears building in his eyes. “I w-want to e-eat cereal with you p-papa!” He whined louder, wiping the tears falling from his eyes.

 

Noctis sighed and turned around. “Please don't start crying Nik. I'll get up and eat some cereal with you. Just relax and give me a minute...to get up.” He yawned sitting up, rubbing his eyes. “Where’s your dad at?” He asked Nikolas, running his hand through his hair.

 

“He went to see Pop Pop.” Nikolas said, sliding off the bed with a smile.

 

“Oh...okay.” He said, yawning loudly.

 

“What kinda cereal do you want papa?” Nikolas said, nearly jumping up and down.

 

“Dunno Nik. Why don't you chose for me buddy?” Noctis said, throwing his feet over the side of his bed and preparing to stand up.

 

“Okay! Hurry up and come to the kitchen after you go potty!” Nikolas said, running to the kitchen. Noctis chuckled and stood up and headed to the bathroom, just like he said.

 

Noct walked into the kitchen and saw Nikolas standing on the counter to get a box from the top of the pantry. He sighed and headed over to grab him off the counter when the child avoided him.

 

“No! I got it! I am going to get your cereal today!” Nikolas said, still reaching for the box of Lucky Charms. Noctis ran his fingers through his bed head and stood right behind him in case he fell.

 

“Your dad is going to kill me if he finds out I let you do this.” he said, watching closely.

 

“Nuh-uh! We won't tell him.” Nikolas suggested. Noctis laughed a little harder this time; Nikolas really was his mini-me.

 

Once Nikolas finally got the box of cereal, he climbed off the counter and took the box to the table where two bowls were set up.

 

“I can't get the big boy bowls without daddy’s help so you got my favorite bowl with the chocobos on it!” he said before running to grab a spoon. Noctis grabbed the milk out the fridge and set it on the table.

 

“Nikky, can you pour the milk without spilling? Because if you can't, I am going to pour it for you.” Noctis warned, sitting down in his chair.

 

“No! No! I got it papa!” he said, standing up on his chair and pouring a bunch of cereal into each bowl. Noctis chuckled and relaxed in his seat. Nikky took a deep breath before he poured the milk, slightly overflowing each bowl.

 

“Sorry! Just eat it off the table. Daddy cleaned it last night.” Nikky said, putting his overflowed cereal back on top of the mountain of sugar cereal and dehydrated marshmallows.

 

Noctis nodded and took a bite of cereal before looking down at the child-sized spoon in his hand. He raised his brow at his son who was shoveling cereal in his mouth.

 

“I let you use my Chocobo spoon, Papa. You get to use all my favorite stuff today.” he said, mouth full of soggy cereal.

 

“Thank buddy. But please don’t talk with your mouth open. It’s gross.” Noctis said before taking another bite of cereal. “Tastes great Nikky. Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome, papa!” he said,  his smile full of marshmallows. Noctis ruffled the dark hair on his head before continuing to eat his breakfast.

 

\---

 

“I made a bubble bath for you Papa! With all my toys in there so you can play!” Nikolas said, running into the living room with his shirt covered in water. Noctis laughed and nodded.

 

“And let bubble prince go to waste? Oh no. The bubble king demands that the bubble prince join him in said bubble bath.” Noctis said, grabbing the laughing boy and taking him to the bathroom with him.

 

It wasn’t long before both the Lucis Caelum boys were playing in the bubble bath.

 

“Why don’t you have a beard like Grandpa, papa? You are the bubble king!” Nikolas said, grabbing a bunch of bubbles and putting them on his father’s face.

 

“Because I will look old like grandpa if I do and your Uncle Gladio wouldn’t let me live it down.” Noctis said, fixing the bubble beard.

 

“Nuh uh! You look like a Papa! Like Uncle Gladio! He’s got a beard!”

 

“He’s always had a beard kiddo. Since he hit puberty.”

 

“What’s pew-ber-ty?” Nikolas asked.

 

Noctis quietly cursed to himself and shook his head. “You will find out when you are older. It’s hard to explain.” he said, trying to avoid the conversation.

 

Nikolas pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. He waited a few seconds in this position before looking over at Noctis. “Okay. I’m older.” he said, matter of factly.

 

“Don’t be a smart ass Nikky. You know what I meant.” Nikolas warned, leaning back in the bathtub.

 

Nikky whined and pouted even more now. He grumbled under his breath and sighed. “Fine….” he said, splashing his hands in the water.

 

“Hey! Don’t wet the floor. It will get sticky from all these bubbles and I’ll have to mop it before your dad gets home.” Noctis said with a yawn.

 

“Are you already sleepy? You just woke up!” Nikolas added.

 

“You did wake me up early Nik.” Noctis added, closing his eyes.

 

Nikolas climbed on his lap and hit his chest a few times. “Daddy says don’t sleep in the bathtub!” he warned, hitting him again. Noctis groaned and sat himself up and grabbed Nikolas.

 

“Then out the tub, we go.” he said, standing up with the toddler in his arms. He stepped out the tub carefully and grabbed both of their towels and headed to Noct’s and Prompto’s bedroom.

 

\---

 

“Can I sit in the cart? Pretty please???” Nikolas asked his father as Noctis pulled a shopping cart from the others.

 

“So you can jump around? Nope. You sit in the seat or you walk with your hand on the basket.” Noctis said as he checked his phone to see if his husband answered him back about dinner.

 

Neither Noctis or Prompto were good cooks but Noctis was getting sick of pizza so he figured he would go to the store and get some t.v. dinners or something of that nature.

“I’ll walk then.” Nikolas said, grabbing Noctis’ hand. Noct chuckled and pushed the shopping cart with his free hand. Nikolas was already starting to be mesmerized by all the bright colored boxes that were all around, so much so that he actually completely stopped Noctis to look at an end cap full of paper towels with a Chocobo mascot on the front.

 

“Papa! Look! Chocobos!” Nikolas said, bouncing up and down.

 

“I see that. Now come on, we gotta go to the freezer section to look for stuff for dinner.” he said, trying to pull the child away.

 

“Can we get them, papa? Please? They have chocobos on them!”

 

“We already have paper towels at home.” Noctis added before trying to pull him again.

 

“B-but ours don’t have chocobos Papa…” he said, looking up at Noct with tears forming in his eyes.

 

Noctis sighed and grabbed a single roll of paper towels. “Okay. We got them. You better clean up your messes with them.” he added. Nikolas cheered and nearly skipped to the freezer section with Noctis.

 

Once in the freezer section, Noctis started looking at all the frozen dinners they had and it began to overwhelm him. Noctis almost never did the shopping, let alone make a decision on what to eat. Prompto hadn’t texted him back so he was practically on his own.

 

Nikolas noticed that his Papa was absorbed in picking a dinner, so he decided to look through things that he wanted. He walked over to the door that had chicken nuggets in it. He carefully opened it up and saw monster shaped chicken nuggets and immediately grabbed them and took them to the cart.

 

Once he put those in and saw Noct wasn’t looking, he proceeded to keep looking for things that he wanted. Prompto never let him choose what he wanted and he knew Noctis would let him get it so he took advantage of the situation.

 

He grabbed some popsicles, ice cream, desserts, and even a bag of chips he saw on the end cap in front of the freezer section. Once he was done, he casually walked over to his father's side and stood there with a big smile on his face.

 

Noctis was still deciding on which lasagna to get when he got back. He sighed and did a quick match of eenie meenie miney mo before picking a four meat, four cheese, family size lasagna and closing the door.

 

When he walked back to the cart and saw it full of junk, he looked over at Nikolas.

“Seriously dude?” Noctis asked as he looked through the junk. “You can get the chicken nuggets, the chips, and only one of the sweets you picked.” he said, putting the lasagna in the basket.

 

“Popsicles!” Nikolas said, climbing on the side of the cart. Noctis put back the other sweets and picked up Nikky to make sure he didn’t run off again to grab more junk food.

 

“Can we get applesauce please? I raned out.” Nikolas asked.

 

“Fine. Then we are leaving, okay?”

 

Nikolas nodded and held onto his father tightly.

 

Thirty minutes and half a basket full of Nikolas’ choice in cereal, fruit snacks, juice, a couple packs of fruit cups, and even a toy car he found, they made it to the register.

 

Noctis grabbed two chocolate bars from the candy stand right next to him and tossed it on the belt with everything else.

 

“Is that for me and you Papa?” he asked.

 

“No. It’s for your dad. He likes this brand.” Noctis said, finishing loading all the stuff onto the conveyor belt.

 

Nikolas looked at the candy bars for a moment and saw a bag of candy shaped like fish. His eyes lit up. His papa liked candy and he liked fish. He figured it was the perfect gift. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter and two pennies. He looked at the change and looked at the candy.

 

“You are a little short there buddy.”

 

Nikky looked up and saw a woman smiling down at him.

 

“That candy is a dollar and you only have twenty- seven cents.” she pointed out.

 

Nikolas looked at the lady, then the candy, then his change. He hung his head and sighed sadly. He started to walk away from the candy when the lady tapped his shoulder.

 

“Is it for you?” she asked. “The candy?”

 

“No...its for my papa...he likes fishies and candy…” he muttered.

 

The woman smiled and handed the bag of candy to him as well as a dollar to buy it. “Go surprise your papa then.” she said with a smile before standing up.

 

His eyes shined and he nodded. “Thank you lady!”

 

Noctis was putting the bags in the cart when Nikolas got the attention of the cashier and tried to hand her the candy and the money. The cashier smiled and leaned over to scan the candy and take the money from the boy and waved goodbye.

 

Nikolas hid the bag of candy in his shorts pocket and quickly ran back to Noctis’ side.

 

\----

 

“Was dinner good Nikky?” Noctis asked as he grabbed the child’s plate.

 

“Mmmhmm!” he said as he wiped the pasta sauce from his mouth.

 

“Good. Daddy should be home soon. He just texted me. So let’s watch a movie and wait for him. You can have a popsicle for finishing all your dinner.” Noctis said, grabbing one out of the freezer, opening it, and handing it to him. “Don’t spill all over everything.”

 

Nikolas grabbed the popsicle and took a few licks. He heard a rustling in his shorts and it reminded him of the candy. “Hold my pop Papa!” he said, holding it out.

 

Noctis, looking quite confused, grabbed the sticky treat and stood there.

 

Nikky stood up and pulled out the half melted candy fish packet from out of his pocket. He noticed that they had melted and stuck together so they didn’t look like fish anymore. He pouted his lips and started to tear up.

 

“Hey hey! Why are you crying?” Noctis asked.

 

“I...I...I got you some candy papa...and they were fishies and I know you like fishies...but...they don’t look like fishies no more...they melted ‘cause I forgot…I’m sorry Papa…” Nikolas said, sniffing loudly as he tried to explain. He held out the mashed together packet of candy and the tears started to run down his face.

 

Noctis smiled softly and put the popsicle back in its wrapper and ruffled Nikolas’ dark hair. “Those are for me Nikky? Thank you. I really appreciate it. They still look like fish. Now it’s just a big pile of fish. Even better than a bunch of little fish.” he said, grabbing the candy and then picking him up. “Thank you,i Nikky. You have been so helpful today since daddy was gone.” he said, kissing his head. “Now let’s go watch that movie”

 

Nikolas hugged him tightly and nodded. “Mmm!” he agreed, leaning his head on Noctis’ shoulder.

 

\----

 

“I’m home!” Prompto announced, closing the front door and walking to the living room. Both Noctis and Nikolas were sleeping on the couch in their pajamas (meaning their underwear and a shirt). Prompto shook his head and walked into the kitchen to see the mess left behind from dinner and the grocery trip.

 

Prompto sighed loudly and ran his hand through his head. “I can’t leave for one day...can I?” he asked himself before stepping forward and slipping on a sticky red substance.

 

He fell down on his butt and whined loudly. “I told you not to buy him popsicles anymore!” Prompto yelled, covered in red stick popsicle juice.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I was thinking the candy fish would be Swedish Fish and Noct actually thinks they are gross but since his boy gave them to him, he will force himself to eat them.


	11. Show and Tell (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glad brings the twins to work with him for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD.
> 
> Just kidding. I just had a moment where I found it hard to write but I got a little bit of my mojo back to write some more. 
> 
> Now, you guys are going to hate me because I made this "arc" into parts for seemingly no reason BUUUTTT theres a method to my madness, I promise.
> 
> This could have been one reeeeaaalllllyyyy long chapter but I actually wrote this in chunks and definitely not in order and not finished all the way. I would write by event and keep going. So instead of of trying to shrink it all, I decided to keep it in chunks like I imagined so it can be a little longer and I can update more often instead of putting out a 9k chapter. Sorry if y'all don't like it but my brain decided it.
> 
> Sorry for the long intro but here we are! 
> 
> For all you fans of Nikolas, he will be in the next part. Don't worry! Feel free to leave comments and stuff below! I love to hear back from you guys, it seriously makes my day and makes me want to write sooooo much more!
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on tumblr! I recently changed my URL so don't be alarmed. The old one was just wayyyyy too long.
> 
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> 
> <http://trashglasses.tumblr.com/post/177463595827/whattt-im-actually-writing-a-new-chapter-for-a>  
> 

“Come on Malena. Stop squirming for one second will ya?” Gladio said to the squirming baby below him as he tried to put a pair of shorts on her. “I just wanna put your outfit on. Then you are free to go.”

 

Malena responded with a whine and kept squirming, same as before. Gladio sighed and did his best to put the outfit as best he could. He was taking the girls to the citadel for the first time so some of the Kingsglaive and guard could meet them. He never stopped talking about them while he was there and people were demanding to meet the oh so famous twins. So now that they were a year old, Ignis reluctantly agreed to let him take the girls someday.

 

Gladio did not mention that it was going to be the day after he asked him.

 

He figured he would get Ignis some of his favorite cake and a few apologies to get him to forget it. He was just too excited to take them to work and he couldn't wait.

 

Gladio was finishing up with Malena when he felt Nevaeh patting on his foot. He looked down and she gave him a big grin before raising her hands. He smiled and leaned down to pick her up and put her down on the bed next to her sister. She was already dressed and ready to go, unlike her sister that kept fussing.

 

“Relax. Relax. You are done. Let’s get your shoes on and let’s go.” he said to Malena, reaching over to the purple sneakers next to him. He quickly popped them on her and picked both of them up. “Okay. Let’s go meet Pop and Daddy’s friends okay?”

 

Nevaeh cooed and smiled while Malena laid her head on Gladio’s chest.

 

\----

 

“You really brought them...Ignis is going to have a few choice words for you Gladio.” Noctis said as he saw him head up with Nevaeh in the front chest carrier and Malena is the back carrier. He had the big diaper bag on his shoulder and had the double stroller folded up as he headed up the stairs.

 

“Hey, I asked him and he said it was fine. What I do with my kids is my business.” Gladio pointed out as he got to the top and unfolded the stroller to roll it into one of the locker rooms he was going to be in today. He fixed the diaper bag on the inside as well as a small bag on the bottom of the stroller.

 

“I’m just saying that I know he isn’t going to take his girls watching people beat up each other all day very well. He is very cautious with them.” Noctis said, reaching over to play with Nevaeh’s hands. She smiled and held his finger tightly as he spoke. “You know how he is Gladio.”

 

Gladio rolled his eyes and quickly avoided the question. “Speaking of children, Aren't you supposed to be with Nikolas? I heard you had today off to be with him according to a couple of birds around here.” he asked

 

“Nikolas is with Prompto at the apartment, thank you very much. I had important meetings this morning so I had to come. Otherwise, I would be enjoying my day in front of my tv with Nikky right next to me.” he said, carefully trying to get his finger out of Neveah's death grip. He could already tell how strong they were going to be based on that alone. Once his finger was removed, he booped her nose and she giggled a little, kicking her feet. Gladio couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange.

 

“I’m surprised you are here so early today. You are a fan of sleep and we all know even Ramut can't even get you up this early. Prompto must have bribed you with _something_ to wake up this morning. I just know it.”

 

“You know what Gladio…,” Noctis said, furrowing his brows at him. "I oughta-"

 

“Well, looks like its time for us to get ready for the day!" Gladi interrupted, "See you later _Your Highness_. I have some babies to show off.” he said as he walked to the west wing where he could get to the training rooms.

 

He was still a little early so no one was really roaming the halls. He wanted to make sure he had time to get the girls comfortable before everyone started to come in.

 

The training room was empty when they got in there, which prompted Gladio to make a little spot for the girls to sit at. Underneath the stroller was a bag with pieces to make a little gate, that way if they got upset with everyone, he could put them down and let them play.

 

He took both girls out the carriers and set them in the stroller to play while he built the circular gate. He got all the pieces out of the bag and started to snap together the multicolored gate pieces. He could hear the girls babbling to themselves as they played and he found himself grinning at the sound. He really was proud to be a father.

 

His thoughts quickly came to a halt when he heard the door open. He turned his head to see a couple of crowns guard come in with their bags. They both looked at him weird and raised a brow at the sight in front of them.

 

“What the heck is going on here Gladiolus? You got a baby gate going on here?” One of them called out as they walked over.

 

“Ignis stuck you on babysitting duty today? That freaking sucks.” the other said as he stood in front of Gladio.

 

“I’m never _stuck_ with babysitting. You can’t babysit your own kids.” Gladio answered as he clicked the last bit of the gate together.

 

“My wife never leaves me alone with my kids for a moment. She would lose her mind. She will call a sitter before she will ask me to watch them. They spend one afternoon with me and she's more than done with me and the chaos they created. Hell after that, I’ll call a sitter before I watch them. That is an entirely different ball game ya know.” the first one explained. The other man laughed loudly and patted his back.

 

“Way to sneak your way out of it dude.  No wonder you can go out all the time! My girl loses her mind when I leave her alone with Haizel but I need a break ya know. I wish I had an excuse like that to get out.” the other man replied. Gladio rolled his eyes and put a blanket down on the bottom of the gate.

 

“Unlike you two, I actually love to watch my kids and my husband. I actually interact and play with my girls because, ya know, I actually am a parent to them. Must suck for your kids _and_ your wife to hate you. I can't relate at all.” Gladio said, simply, not even glancing up at the man. “Sorry being an actual father isn’t ideal for you. I hope you change your mind before your kids find out.”

 

The first man looked at Gladio, furrowing his brows and taking a step forward as if he was going to fight Gladio, but the other guy stopped him before he could do anything. He shook his head and lead him away. Gladio still didn’t even acknowledge them as they walked away. At least they were smart enough not to pick a fight with Gladio, especially with his kids in front of him.

 

Malena started to whine in the stroller and tried to pull the seat belt off of her. Gladio looked over and sighed softly. “Mal, relax. I am going to take you out of there in a second,” he said to her as he tested the gate in a couple spots to make sure it was built correctly. "Okay, I'm coming mamas."

 

Once that was done, Gladio grabbed Malena first and placed her in the circle and put her toys in right after her. She quieted down right away and grabbed the small stuffed octopus that was in front of her.

 

He grabbed Nevaeh out next but she seemed to want to stay attached to him. She would grab his shirt every time he would try to put her down with her sister. He chuckled and fixed her bow on her head. “Okay okay. I get it. Pop will hold you.” he said to her as he kissed her cheek. She giggled loudly and put her head on his shoulder.

 

The door flew open again and Gladio immediately tensed up, ready to defend his choice yet again. He turned around to see a couple of familiar faces, which made him relax right away with a smile.

 

“Morning Nyx. Morning Lib. Morning Crowe.” he said with a smile, making Nevaeh’s hand wave at them.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> <http://trashglasses.tumblr.com/post/177463595827/whattt-im-actually-writing-a-new-chapter-for-a>  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> I really love all the kids in this. Nikolas is my sweet sleepy baby, Malena is my little brat, and Neveah is my sweet sunshine baby. I have definitely become attached to them as I have been writing this.
> 
> I did have a little bit of a hard time trying to nail the guys' character though so I hope its not too OOC.
> 
> Lemme know if you guys want more, I will happily write more of my boys and their sweet babies.
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr! Send me some prompts for future chapters and stuff! 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mermaid-fins-and-mermaid-tears
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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